'The Night Of' season 1 spoilers, plot news: John Turturro on taking over lead role from late friend James Gandolfini

John Turturro, who has appeared in a long list of films and TV shows since the '80s, is finally getting heaps of much-deserved critical praise for his performance as New York City lawyer John Stone in HBO's new crime drama "The Night Of."

In the critically-acclaimed eight-part miniseries based on the British TV series "Criminal Justice," Turturro plays a world-weary defense attorney who takes on the challenge of representing Nasir "Naz" Khan (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American college student who is accused of murdering Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black D'Elia), a girl from the Upper West Side.

The series, which is made available via HBO on-demand, debuted in July. With only two episodes left in the miniseries, viewer interest is reaching its peak levels, with many clamoring for a second season.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Turturro opened up about his initial hesitation to join the HBO drama, which originally had the late actor James Gandolfini playing Stone.

Gandolfini, who is best known for his starring role in HBO's "The Sopranos," passed away in 2013. Following his death, the lead role in "The Night Of" was offered to his close friend, Turturro.

"I was like 'Oh, no, guys, I can't,'" the actor recalled. "Because of James."

"He was wonderful," Turturro said about Gandolfini. "We worked together on 'Romance and Cigarettes.' I went to his wedding. I went to his funeral."

Despite initially turning down the role, Turturro eventually took on the task. "Well, they showed me the pilot and I was like, 'Aww I don't want to watch this,'" he recounted. "It was the pilot and he only had that one scene at the end. I was watching it with one eye closed, obviously."

Turturro added that he talked to Gandolfini's wife and managers before he agreed to take on the lead role in the series.

"I wanted to do a good job for myself and for my friend," he said.

Meanwhile, in July, "The Night Of" executive producer Steven Zaillian spoke about the possibility of doing a second season, telling reporters at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour that they are thinking about it and that while "The Night Of" was designed "as a stand-alone piece," a second season would be possible if they come up with something "worthy of doing."

"The Night Of" season 1 airs every Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO.