Tony Soprano

Anthony John Soprano, Sr., portrayed by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series The Sopranos. He is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, becomes the boss of the fictional DiMeo crime family of North Jersey. The character was created by Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase, who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the series. Gandolfini was cast in the role ahead of other actors, including Steven Van Zandt and Michael Rispoli. The character is loosely based on stories from and about an assortment of real-life Mafia figures, including New Jersey mobsters Ruggerio "Richie the Boot" Boiardo, boss of the Genovese crime family New Jersey faction, Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, a former caporegime and de facto boss of the DeCavalcante crime family and boss Sam DeCavalcante. Bobby Boriello and Mark Damiano II portrayed the character as a child in one episode each and Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes. William Ludwig portrayed him as a child and Gandolfini's son Michael portrayed him as a teenager in the 2021 prequel film The Many Saints of Newark. In the first season, Tony is a capo and serves as a key ally for ailing acting boss Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile in the DiMeo family. Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to acting underboss and then official underboss, a position he retains until the sixth season; his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the acting boss up until early in the sixth season, but actual power is retained by Tony. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting needs of his family—wife Carmela, daughter Meadow, son A.J. and mother Livia—with those of the Mafia. He displays behavior traits characteristic...