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| “ | That's the guy Adriana. My uncle Tony. The guy I'm goin' to hell for. | „ |
| ~ Christopher Moltisanti to Adriana La Cerva, on Tony Soprano; his most famous quote. |
| “ | That's it. I don't wanna just survive. It's says in these movie writing books that every character has an arc. Understand? Like everybody starts out somewhere's and they do something, something gets done to them and it changes their life. That's called an arc. Where's my arc? | „ |
| ~ Christopher Moltisanti to Paulie Gualtieri about his life crisis. |
| “ | Paulie Gualtieri: You're not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. The guy was an interior decorator. Christopher Moltisanti: His house looked like sh-t. |
„ |
| ~ One of the most famous interactions in the entire series; Paulie and Chrsitopher discussing Valery's past. |
Christopher Moltisanti is the main deuteragonist of HBO's Television Series The Sopranos, as well as the narrator and a minor character in the 2021 prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark.
He is the young nephew and protégé of New Jersey Mafia boss, Tony Soprano, who climbs through the ranks from an associate to eventually becoming a high-ranking caporegime by the end of the series. However, due to his erratic and reckless behavior, he is constantly put into conflict with Tony, Paulie Gualtieri, his girlfriend (later fiancée) Adriana La Cerva and his place in the DiMeo Crime Family.
While on the surface, Christopher can be seen as a hot-headed, impulsive and near sociopathic thug and manipulator, on the inside, Christopher is one of the most well-written and explored characters in not only the series but also in television history. Just like Tony, he too is an anti-hero and deals with his desires of being a mobster while also wishing to become a famous screenwriter with him also dealing with depression and a substance abuse problem later in the series.
He was portrayed by Michael Imperioli, who also played Frankie in Shark Tale and Uriel in Lucifer.
Personality[]
Born the son of Dickie Moltisanti, and the "nephew" of Tony Soprano, Christopher grew up surrounded by mob bosses and cutthroat killers who acted as his familial figures, and thus he was surrounded by the patriarchal, greedy and violent lifestyle ever since he was a boy, with the desire to join the mob at a young age.
A drug addict and a hothead, Christopher starts off the series as an erratic, impulsive, reckless, and violent youth who has not yet become a "made guy," and is described by Junior Soprano as a "f--king loose cannon." At one point, he shot a bakery cashier's foot simply for not showing him the respect he believed he deserved. Impatient and prideful, he desired to move up the ranks through the DiMeo crime family as quickly as possible, and this motivated him to hijack Junior's truck, getting Brendan Filone, his friend killed and nearly getting him killed as well.
Despite his loyalty to the Mafia, he had other ambitions in life besides organized crime. He wanted to act and make movies, but was worried that his ambitions would be looked down upon by the other members of the organization, as well as concerned that Tony may not allow him to leave. At one point, he took an acting and screenwriting class where he acted with genuine passion, although he later left due to his embarrassment. He attempted to get into contact with movie director Jon Favreau; however, After Favreau stole his script idea, he was given an ultimatum by Tony to either stay with him or continue his failed attempt at a new career. Mournfully, he chose the former.
Christopher was in love with Adriana La Cerva; however, their relationship was extremely manipulative and toxic. Christopher was unfaithful to her and regularly slept with other women, and was a neglectful drug addict and alcoholic who abused her when he was upset. Ultimately, when she became an FBI informant, he nearly strangled her to death after she told him, but stopped himself, instead crying out of frustration. He ultimately gave her up to Tony Soprano to be killed, although he did it reluctantly, crying, breaking down, and relapsing.
Biography[]
Background[]
Christopher Moltisanti was born in New Jersey. His parents were Dickie Moltisanti and Joanne Blundetto, a soldier in the Soprano crew of the DiMeo crime family. Chris was a first cousin once removed to Carmela Soprano and a second cousin to Meadow and Anthony Soprano Jr. Although a different blood relation than being the brother to one of his parents, Tony Soprano affectionately considered Christopher a nephew due to the age difference, and had looked out for him over the years, as Christopher never had a father figure growing up (his actual father, Dickie, was killed when Christopher was very young). Moltisanti was engaged to Adriana La Cerva before her murder.
Moltisanti was very loyal to his uncle — whom he once called "the man I'm going to hell for" — and Soprano trusted him more than anyone else in the organization. Tony often entrusted Christopher with sensitive jobs, including disposing of the bodies of Ralph Cifaretto and Richie Aprile. Moltisanti acted as Tony's mouthpiece, issuing Tony's orders in order to insulate Tony from potential racketeering charges. Tony was planning on making Moltisanti his successor.
Moltisanti had his share of problems; he was prone to violent and impulsive behavior, and he had been distracted, at times, by lofty pursuits such as Screenwriting and music producing. Some members of the crime family appeared to be jealous of Christopher's closeness to his uncle. In particular, his fast ascent had led to friction with fellow mobsters Silvio Dante, Patsy Parisi and Paulie Gualtieri He also had problems with substance abuse, eventually becoming addicted to heroin and alcohol, and being forced into rehab by his family (particularly his uncle), friends, and his fiancée, Adriana. After he emerged from the rehab program, Moltisanti seemed to develop an addiction to soda pop as a substitute, particularly Coca Cola; it was made evident throughout the series although never addressed verbally.
Season 1[]
He "made his bones" by killing Emil Kolar in order to settle a dispute the family was having over the Triborough Towers garbage routes. Christopher invited Emil to a sit-down at Satriale's and shot him in the head while he was snorting cocaine. He initially planned to place the body in a Kolar Bros. dumpster to send a warning, à la Luca Brasi from The Godfather. Salvatore Bonpensiero convinced him to put it elsewhere as the mystery would be more effective and bring less heat to the crew. Moltisanti later complained that he did not receive enough recognition for his resolution of this problem. This murder haunted his dreams, and he twice exhumed Kolar's corpse, once to seek negative attention as many of his fellow mobsters were mentioned in the news, and another time to avoid discovery as the land he buried Kolar in would soon to be developed.
Christopher Moltisanti's legitimate job at the time was a Union Safety Official position in a local union that Tony got for him in order to keep the IRS off his financial history.
Another notable instance of Moltisanti's early criminal activity with the Soprano crew is his hijacking of Comley trucks with his friend Brendan Filone. These trucks were under the protection of Corrado "Uncle Junior" Soprano, and the hijacking prompted Junior to request a sit-down and demand compensation. The late Acting Boss Jackie Aprile Sr. ruled that Moltisanti and Filone make restitution to Junior and leave Comley trucks alone. The two reluctantly complied and paid the $15,000 tribute to Junior, although Tony did take his cut, somewhere around $3,000. At a club with their girlfriends, Chris and Brendan planned another heist while high on crystal meth. However, on the night of the job, Christopher backed down because he had decided to throw his loyalty wholly in with Soprano and his crew. Brendan went through with the hijacking with two others, but it went sour and Brendan's associate dropped his firearm, causing it to fire and strike the driver, killing him. Brendan contacted Christopher for help. Christopher was reprimanded by Soprano for not using his leadership to prevent Brendan from undertaking the job. The pair were ordered to return the truck to Comley and they complied. Christopher was also extorting drug dealers for 10 percent of their income before Junior Soprano's crew took over his collections.
Uncle Junior was angered that his authority was flouted, however, and organized a mock execution for Moltisanti. Soprano's mother, Livia, held Moltisanti in high regard because he had once put up her storm windows, and this affection may have saved him from a worse fate. He was abducted from a hot dog stand and driven out to the New Jersey Meadowlands by two Russian thugs where they performed Junior's orders. The less fortunate Brendan was shot in the eye by Mikey Palmice while in his bathtub.
Christopher also tried to help his girlfriend, Adriana La Cerva establish a career as a record producer. He is introduced to Massive Genius, a famous R&B musician, who allows Visiting Day (the band fronted by Adriana's ex-boyfriend, Richie Santini) to cut a record, however Hesh Rabkin tells Christopher that it's "not a hit".
Prior to the failed attempt on Tony's life, John "Petite" Clayborn and Rasheen Ray, the two men hired to perform the contract on Tony, tailed Christopher Moltisanti in their Ford Taurus, a fact that Christopher remembers and which allows Tony and his crew to realize that Junior took out a contract on him.
In retaliation, Moltisanti and Gualtieri confronted and killed Palmice under Tony's orders.
Christopher also assisted in the murder of Jimmy Altieri by luring him to a hotel room where he was shot by Silvio Dante after suspicions of him being an FBI informant.
Season 2[]
Moltisanti was put in charge of the family's Webistics pump and dump stock scam. He received his Stockbroker license by having someone take the exam in his name. Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte were his subordinates in this operation. He also used them to break a number of bank safes to supplement his income. They betrayed him, however, attempting to kill him to get recognition and speed their promotion. While leaving the Skyways Diner, Moltisanti was shot several times by his two associates in a drive by. They crashed their car, however, and Moltisanti instead shot Gismonte through the head, killing him instantly. Bevilaqua ran away, to be captured and executed by the Soprano crew later. Moltisanti also continues His work as a Writer and Actor, even creating a screenplay which was praised by Studio executives.
Moltisanti had to have his spleen removed and went through a traumatic recovery process with Adriana by his side. Soprano's ire at the shooters was such that he killed Matt personally. Moltisanti later told the crew that he had seen himself in either hell or purgatory after being shot and warned them that Brendan Filone and Mikey Palmice told him that three o'clock would be a significant time in their future.
Following the death of Richie Aprile, whom was shot and killed by Tony's sister Janice for abusing her, Soprano called Moltisanti and Furio Giunta to dispose of his body; they used Satriale's butchery facilities to dismember the corpse. At Meadow Soprano's graduation, Tony proposed Christopher for membership (becoming a made man).
Season 3[]
Moltisanti became a Made Man in 2001 alongside Eugene Pontecorvo. He noticed a crow on the windowsill at the ceremony and took this as a bad omen. As the newest member of the Family, Moltisanti got control of a betting shop and was charged with a minimum weekly dues payment to his capo: Paulie Gualtieri. Friction was created early on between Chris and Paulie. Chris was short on payments he was supposed to kick up to Paulie. Paulie would humiliate Chris by checking him for wires and taking advantage of Chris being a lower level mobster by having Chris pay for meals. This created a gradually building tension between the two that peaked during the Pine Barrens Incident, where Paulie and Chrissy get lost in the South Jersey pine barrens, after an altercation with a Russian. They later agreed to bury the hatchet due to their mutual friendship. Moltisanti's other early work involved robbing a charity concert at Rutgers, and working with Jackie Aprile Jr. and his friend Benny Fazio. He also opened the Crazy Horse Nightclub in Long Branch, New Jersey with Furio Giunta as a partner, and Adrianna as front operator.
Moltisanti was present when Jackie Aprile Jr. and friends tried to rob a card game run by Pontecorvo. Moltisanti and Acting Capo Albert Barese killed Aprile's friend Dino Zerilli as he tried to escape. A contract was put on Aprile and he was eventually found in the Boonton Projects. Vito Spatafore shot Aprile in the head ending his life. At Aprile's funeral Christopher was arrested on a gambling charge along with Patsy Parisi and Silvio Dante.
Season 4[]
Tony Soprano made Moltisanti his main contact in his criminal dealings to insulate himself from prosecution. He then bonded his nephew to him by having him murder Lt. Det. Barry Haydu. He told Moltisanti that Haydu had murdered his father, and gave him the detective's address. Moltisanti surprised Haydu in his home and restrained him in order to question him. Haydu denied any guilt, but his involvement was clear by his repeated cries of "I'm sorry!" and Moltisanti killed him.
He was made acting capo of his crew when Gualtieri was imprisoned on a gun charge and was awarded a no-show job at the Esplanade construction site. His promotion irked Parisi, who had seniority. The two came to blows over Parisi's continued theft from the construction site, despite orders from Soprano. Silvio was actually the guiding force behind Parisi's actions, as he was also jealous of Moltisanti's promotion. This conflict results in Moltisanti engaging in violent altercation with Parisi at the construction site where Parisi taunts Moltisanti over Silvio's involvement and Moltisanti witnesses Parisi beat a construction worker who threatened to call the police on them for their altercation. Moltisanti was also entrusted with traveling to meet an aging family of hitmen with Silvio while organizing a hit on Johnny Sack. When Sack resolved his dispute with Ralphie, the hit was called off. Moltisanti's drug use spiraled out of control following his temporary promotion, Cumilating in him killing Adriana's dog Cossette by sitting on her while high. When Soprano called upon him to dispose of Ralphie's body after the former had just murdered him, Soprano realized that Moltisanti was high. Although they were able to successfully conceal the body, Soprano decided his nephew needed help. Later, Moltisanti was car jacked by a Latino gang while trying to buy heroin. When Soprano learned that Moltisanti had accidentally killed Adriana's dog, Cosette, by sitting on it when high, he became very angry. Moltisanti returns home beaten and Adriana gives him a pamphlet for a recovery clinic. Enraged at the thought of going to rehab, Christopher beats Adriana and knocks her on the floor before leaving. Adriana at her breaking point turns to Soprano and Carmela who all arrange an intervention with the family including Moltisanti's mother in attendance. Tony is enraged to hear that his drug habit made him high at Livia's funeral as well as killing Cossette and Paulie tells Moltisanti he has become and embarrassment to himself and everyone else. However things escalate when Christopher begins insulting, Silvio, Paulie, Tony and then his own mother, which proves to be the breaking point for Silvio, Paulie and Tony who brutally beat him up, causing Moltisanti to sent to the emergency room with a hairline skull fracture. Following this, Soprano insisted Moltisanti go into rehab and assigned Patsy to guard him. Soprano implies Moltisanti is to be killed by Patsy should he attempt to escape or fail his rehabilitation.
Following Moltisanti's successful rehabilitation, Soprano entrusted him with the planned hit on Carmine Lupertazzi; Moltisanti contracted the job out to Credenzo Curtis and Stanley Johnson, some associates from the days of his heroin usage. When the job was called off and Soprano urged him to make sure it couldn't be traced to them, Moltisanti had Benny and Peter LaRosa murder the hired help while he waited in his car.
Season 5[]
Moltisanti got into an argument with Paulie Walnuts while hanging out telling past stories including the Pine Barrens tale. Paulie called Chris "Tony's Little Favorite." They later agreed to stop fighting before things got out of control.
Moltisanti was put in charge of a cigarette smuggling operation. Moltisanti was partnered with Paulie and told to split the difference. While Moltisanti was traveling to North Carolina to pick up some cigarettes, Tony and Adriana were involved in a car accident, and rumors began to spread about how the crash had been caused by Adriana performing oral sex on Tony. Moltisanti found out, started a fight with Vito Spatafore, got drunk, beat up and threw Adriana out of the house and pulled a gun on Tony in the Bada Bing. Following this incident, Tony was ready to kill Moltisanti when their cousin Tony Blundetto stepped in and saved his life. Blundetto arranged a meeting with the doctor who treated Tony and Adriana following the crash to explain that both passengers must have been upright and in their seat belts when it occurred. Moltisanti reconciled with both Spatafore and Tony.
Moltisanti later traveled to his uncle Pat Blundetto's farm alongside Soprano and Tony Blundetto. They helped Pat move bodies hidden on the farm as Pat was planning to move away. While there, Moltisanti recalled being bullied by the two Tonys and their behavior seemed to repeat itself when they ribbed him over his addiction problems.
Throughout this time, Moltisanti maintained a turbulent and sometimes violent relationship with Adriana. He indulged her aspirations for a career in the music business by allowing her to produce a demo and later giving her a club to run. They became engaged before his drug addiction forced him into rehab. Years later, however, after he learned that Adriana was reluctantly providing information to the FBI , he turned to Soprano rather than accept her plea to join her as a government informant. Tony Soprano then deceived Adriana by convincing her that Moltisanti had attempted suicide and that he was sending Silvio Dante to transport her to the hospital, only for her to be driven into the woods and executed. Moltisanti later relapsed into heroin use and wept to his uncle out of grief for Adriana.
Blundetto almost started a war with the Lupertazzi crime family by killing Phil Leotardo's brother Billy Leotardo. Following this Tony had Moltisanti go into hiding because he feared Leotardo might seek revenge on Blundetto's family. Eventually Tony was forced to kill Blundetto himself, and later asked Chris to collect Blundetto's body and bury it.
Season 6[]
Part I[]
Moltisanti was promoted to Capo in the DiMeo Family sometime between 2004 and 2006, in keeping with Tony's long term plan to raise his nephew through the ranks until he is his sole contact to the rest of the family, through which all orders are issued, and eventually boss of the family. He used Moltisanti to organize the sensitive hit on Rusty Millio. Christopher initially questioned Soprano's decision to contract the job out to their friends in Naples, but later decided it was a smart move. He used his Italian-speaking associate Corky Caporale to communicate with the hitmen and provide them with weapons and instructions, while paying him off with heroin. Moltisanti's readiness for the responsibility of leading his own crew is unclear as he has been distracted by the lure of a Hollywood career, relapsed into drug use, and displayed unresolved feelings over his murdered fiancée.
Moltisanti's crew got involved in a Credit card scam; his AA sponsor James "Murmur" Zancone and Benny Fazio take numbers from local businesses and sell them on to associates Muhammed and Ahmed. He wonders about whether these men have links to terrorism. The use of numbers from Nouvo Vessuvio (The restaurant Owned by Tony's longtime friend Artie Bucco) led to a violent dispute between his associate Benny Fazio and Soprano's friend Artie Bucco. Soprano blamed Moltisanti's trip to LA for the dispute not being settled quickly.
Moltisanti married Kelli Lombardo in 2006 after learning that she was pregnant with his child. They made an offer on a new home together. He had a belated bachelor party with the Soprano crime family at Nuovo Vesuvio where Lorenzo Barese made a toast to his future. When he later delivered Corky's final payment, including more heroin, however, he watched his friend inject the drug and could not resist following suit. He spent the night at the Feast of St. Elzear festival with a stray dog.
Moltisanti took a road trip to Pennsylvania with Soprano just before the feast. On their way home they spotted some bikers robbing a strip mall and took part of the haul for themselves. This led to a firefight (started by the bikers immediately after Christopher shot out one of the tires on the bikers' van so the bikers wouldn't be able to pursue them) in which Moltisanti shot one of the bikers as Soprano drove away. Later, the two got drunk on the wine they had stolen, and Moltisanti recalled telling Soprano of Adriana's treachery. The two expressed their love for and loyalty to each other — though when the two later tried to recreate their camaraderie sober, it fell flat and ended in an awkward silence. Months later, Moltisanti was back in AA meetings.
Part II[]
| “ | I'll never pass a drug test. Call me a taxi... | „ |
| ~ Christopher's last words after the car crash, before Tony mercifully kills him. |
Christopher calls Tony to wish him a belated birthday while he is celebrating it at the Adirondacks but Tony, disgusted, hangs up on him.
Christopher premiered his film Cleaver in 2007 at a private screening with other Soprano family members and friends and is looking to have it distributed nationwide. He also seems to be distancing himself from the criminal lifestyle and staying away from the Bada Bing strip club where he might go back into drug and alcohol use. In general, his relationship with Tony has cooled and it is clear when Tony begins grooming Bobby Baccalieri for the position Christopher once held, that their relationship will never be the same. Given Chris's resentment towards Tony about Adriana's death, and his continued desire to enter the movie business, he and Tony continue to drift apart. When he relapsed to drinking after yet another confrontation with Paulie Walnuts, he became very angry with the crew and left. He later ended up at the home of his "friend" J.T Dolan , looking for someone to talk to. When JT foolishly made explicit mention of Christopher's membership in the Mafia, and refused to let Christopher talk out his problems that night, Moltisanti shot Dolan in the head and left, adding to his murder count.
Christopher's luck runs out in the episode "Kennedy and Heidi". He and Tony were injured in a serious car accident while driving back from a meeting with Phil Leotardo and the New York crew. The song he listens to before the accident is "Comfortably Numb," performed live by Pink Floyd. The song describes the lifeless feeling achieved while taking drugs. Christopher, clearly impaired by drugs and alcohol, lost control of his Escalade NXT, nearly side-swiped an oncoming car, ran off the road, and rolled several times before coming to a stop in a ditch. Christopher was not wearing a seat belt and the crash led to severe internal injuries, as evidenced by the blood he was coughing up. Christopher then pleaded with Tony to help him avoid getting in trouble for driving under the influence, mumbling about not being able to pass a drug test and losing his driver's license. Tony stumbled out of the car to help Chris after noticing that a branch had impaled the baby seat in the back where Chris' daughter could have been sitting. Chris' ongoing irresponsibility and increasing fears that he would turn State's witness infuriated Tony, leading him to make an impulsive executive decision. Tony suffocated his nephew by pinching his nostrils shut, leading Christopher to asphyxiate to death on his own blood.
Whether or not Christopher would have survived if Tony had called for help is unknown, although it is mentioned in the episode that "the doctors said he could have made it, but he didn't." Throughout the remainder of the episode, Tony displayed the proper decorum for the family in mourning yet could barely restrain his relief that he was finally free of the burden Christopher had placed upon him for so long; he had also described Christopher as an "emotional strain" and "sniveling little drug addict." Tony's fear that Christopher could potentially turn on him at the drop of a hat due to his weakness as a drug addict was also finally laid to rest along with Christopher.
In a dream, Tony admits to Dr. Melfi that he did in fact murder Christopher as well as other friends and family members before, specifically mentioning his cousin Tony Blundetto and his best friend Sal Bonpensiero. In the final episodes of the series, Christopher is shown through an old picture of him hung in the meat store to honor him; a cat brought back from the hideout in which the crew was hiding spent its time staring at the photo.
Victims[]
- Emil Kolar - Shot in the back of the head by Christopher Moltisanti.
- Jimmy Altieri - Shot in the back of the head by Silvio Dante. He was lured in by Christopher.
- Mikey Palmice, Sr. - Shot by Christopher and Paulie for conspiring with Uncle Junior to kill Tony and for killing Brendan Filone.
- Sean Gismonte - Shot in the head by Christopher in self defense.
- Deer - Shot by Christopher Moltisanti thinking it was Valery.
- Carlo Renzi - Shot in the head by Christopher.
- Dino Zerilli - Shot in the head by Christopher and Albert Barese.
- Barry Haydu - Shot by Christopher for allegedly killing his father.
- Credenzo Curtis - Shot by Benny Fazio and Petey LaRosa on Christopher's orders.
- Stanley Johnson - Shot by Benny Fazio and Petey LaRosa on Christopher's orders.
- Cosette (Dog) - Crushed to death by Christopher when he sits on her.
- Raoul - Brick thrown at the back of his head by Christopher that gives him a seizure and then shot by Paulie.
- Adriana La Cerva - Chris informed Tony of her being an FBI informant, leading to her being shot by Silvio.
- Teddy Spirodakis - Asked Eugene Pontecorvo to kill him as a favor.
- Eddie Pietro - Shot by Italo and Salvatore on Christopher's orders.
- Rusty Millio - Shot by Italo and Salvatore on Christopher's orders.
- J. T. Dolan - Shot in the head by Christopher after accidentally telling him he was in the mob.
Overall[]
- Total - 17
- 15 Humans
- 2 Animals
Quotes[]
| “ | I can multitask, Adriana, i'm not a f-ing r-rd! | „ |
| ~ Christopher when Adriana shows concern for him. |
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Despite being Tony's nephew. Christopher's actor Michael Imperioli in real life is only five years younger than the late James Gandolfini.
- Christopher holds the second most amount of kills out of everyone in the entire show, only behind Valery. Though, Christopher still holds the most on-screen kills.
- Christopher shooting the baker in the foot in the phone in the episode "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti" is a callback to Michael Imperioli's character Spider in GoodFellas in which Tommy DeVito (Played by Joe Pesci) shoots him in the foot in a similar manner.
External Links[]
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 Villains
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DiMeo Crime Family Lupertazzi Crime Family Vittorio/Zucca Camorra family Philadelphia Crime Family/Buscetta Crime Family Other | ||