Did the Tony character seep into Gandolfini’s real life?

He clearly immersed himself in the character and put on a genre defining performance. But how much did that performance affect his actual health- mentally, spiritually, and physically?

His role dealt with some pretty hardcore topics. The nature of life. Where you go when you die (that white house coma). Oblivion (cut to black). And of course all the mob type stuff like murder, deceit, backstabbing, paranoia.

Let me put it this way. If he had taken a genre defining performance on, let’s say, Star Trek. Where he surpassed Picard as a new captain type role on a new series. Would things have still ended the same way they did? Or was it the sopranos material that amplified his depression, addiction, and consciousness of oblivion?

I realize this is a pretty morbid topic of discussion, but I’m just curious to see what you guys think because by all accounts, he had changed as a person in real life as the series progressed.

Is it possible he was affected so heavily by the material, he started to live it? Then the writers started writing for that transformation, leading to a type of vicious cycle?

Again, not trying to be insensitive, just want to better understand the man behind the art.