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Villain Overview

All due respect, you got no f-cking idea what it's like to be Number One. Every decision you make affects every facet of every other f-cking thing. It's too much to deal with almost. And in the end you're completely alone with it all.
~ Tony Soprano's most famous line.
Those who want respect, give respect.
~ Tony Soprano's philosophy on respect.
It's good to be in something from the ground floor. I came too late for that, I know. But lately, I'm getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over.
~ Tony Soprano in the first episode; his second most famous quote.

Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is the titular main protagonist of the HBO Television Series The Sopranos and a major character in the 2021 prequel film The Many Saints of Newark.

He is a New Jersey Italian-American Mafia boss who is constantly struggling to manage both his crime family and his actual biological family. Due to all this stress he frequently undergoes psychological therapy (which actually does nothing to deter his criminal habits) and has many strange dreams.

He was portrayed by the late James Gandolfini, who also played Virgil in True Romance, Ben Pinkwater in Terminal Velocity, Kenny Kane in The Mighty, and Eddie Poole in 8mm; Bobby Borriello, Mark Damiano II and Danny Petrillo played younger versions of the character. In The Many Saints of Newark, he was portrayed by James' son Michael Gandolfini.

Personality[]

Tony Soprano, like many of his criminal cronies, is a double-edged sword whose personality veers between a lovable family man and a ruthless killer who revels in violence. Growing up in an endless cycle of violence, with a father who rose within the DiMeo crime family, Tony learned from an early age to value and glorify the criminal lifestyles of those he considered his mentors. That's not to say Tony didn't have a relatively normal childhood for someone his age, barring the violence and death he witnessed. His uncle, Junior Soprano, took him to baseball games and encouraged him to play sports. Furthermore, his uncle Dickie Moltisanti acted as a foster father to Tony and encouraged him to value life and art.

Unfortunately, constantly tormented and smothered by his mother, Livia, Tony ended up disregarding many of his career opportunities that could have led him to a better future. For example, the fact that he failed to move up the sports career in football is something that haunts him for the rest of his life. Tony is also ashamed of not having completed his college. Believing that his Uncle Dickie had moved away, Tony lost faith in himself as an individual and began to delve into the criminal world. Something Dickie himself never wanted.

Tony runs a powerful New Jersey mafia family, but is frustrated by the fact that he cannot control every other aspect of his life. Constantly shutting himself off from everyone and everything, it's not common for Tony to be constantly betrayed by those close to him. He has a huge ego, a sense of arrogance, and a clear hypocrisy rooted in his personality in wanting to think he's better than everyone around him. These behaviors build up to the point where Tony has periodic blackouts. He says he believes in family, love, and companionship, but he often demonstrates that he doesn't really know this. Much of this behavior is due to his toxic relationship with his mother, Livia. She manipulated and psychologically violated Tony all her life. As much as Soprano tries to please her and make amends, he can't bring himself to admit that he's become as bad as she is, and Livia's death opens a huge void in Tony's soul that he is unable to fill for the rest of the series due to the fact that of never having reconciled with her.

It's not uncommon for Tony to have nightmares and dreams about his life. Many of which are unconscious warnings from himself about aspects of the world around him. This shows that Tony is a highly intelligent individual, as shown when his school principal claims that he has a high IQ, something that Tony's mother hides. He's a leader who takes the DiMeo family to the top. However, he ends up losing control of it throughout the series, and after a long succession of mistakes, Tony ends up feeding the flames of his own downfall.

Still, Tony has an unusually empathetic side for a criminal of his caliber. He has an interest in art, film, and an ability to read people and their actions. Many of these interests Tony himself does not realize he has, or even explores, but he ends up using them for his own pleasure in business and in his own personal life. In addition, Tony has a sincere love for animals of all kinds, such as dogs and horses. Tony often ends up liking animals more than people. He seems to feel suffocated by the mafia's manly, patriarchal lifestyle, but never admits this to himself for fear of appearing sentimental or stupid.

As a result of his broken childhood, Tony carries over many youthful traits, including a lack of emotional control, an immature need to insult and belittle people, a juvenile yet crude sense of humor, and a deep-seated insecurity.

Tony has shown to truly love his family, care about his friends, and wants for himself and others around him to lead happy lives. However, Tony’s treatment of his wife, children and friends is often times closer to a mob boss than a husband and father. He is incredibly selfish and dismissive towards his wife, Carmella, insulting her frequently, and he consistently betrays her by having extramarital affairs. He’s the most proud of his daughter Meadow, as she is the more successful of his two children, and yet he still oftentimes neglects her. He also admits to his therapist that he loathes his son A.J despite how much her loved and cares for his son, as A.J is not successful like Meadow and is, instead, more like Tony himself when he was a kid.

Unlike most murderous criminals, Tony is capable of being kind, able to reflect on himself, looks into his past and how his lifestyle and worldview can be flawed, has shown remorse for many of his actions, and even genuinely desired at several times throughout the show to change for the better. However, Tony’s refusal to separate himself from the violent and brutal world of organized crime continues would prevent him from every truly changing, and rather than become a better man, he merely rationalized his own problems and continued to be the same violent, selfish man he always was.

Victims[]

Victims directly killed by Tony Soprano.
  1. Willie Overall - Shot to death by Tony and Paulie Gualtieri.
  2. Fabian "Febby" Petrulio - Garroted with wire by Tony for being a rat.
  3. Chucky Signore - Shot several times in the chest by Tony for conspiring with Uncle Junior to kill him.
  4. Matthew Bevilaqua - Shot several times in the chest by Tony and Big Pussy for shooting Christopher.
  5. Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero - Shot by Tony, Paulie, and Silvio Dante for betraying them.
  6. Ralph Cifaretto - Beaten and then strangled to death by Tony Soprano after a long buildup of resentment towards Ralph.
  7. Tony Blundetto - Shot in the head by Tony Soprano as a mercy kill, so he wouldn't be tortured by Phil Leotardo for killing his brother.
  8. Christopher Moltisanti - Suffocated by Tony Soprano after a car accident for becoming a detriment to the family.
Victims killed on Tony Soprano's orders.
  1. Jimmy Altieri - Shot by Silvio Dante with Christopher on the orders of Tony and Junior for being a snitch.
  2. Mikey Palmice - Shot by Christopher and Paulie on Tony's orders for conspiring with Uncle Junior to kill him.
  3. Phillip "Philly Spoons" Parisi - Shot by Gigi Cestone on Tony's orders for spreading rumors about Tony trying to kill his mother.
  4. Freddy Capuano - Killed by an unknown person on Tony's orders for spreading rumors about Tony trying to kill his mother.
  5. Mustang Sally - Shot by Bobby Baccalieri, Sr. on Tony's orders for putting Bryan Spatafore in a coma.
  6. Carlos - Shot by Bobby Baccalieri, Sr. for witnessing Mustang Sally's murder.
  7. Jackie Aprile Jr. - Shot in the back of the head by Vito Spatafore on Tony's orders after attempting to rob Christopher Moltisanti and Furio Giunta's card game.
  8. Barry Haydu - Shot by Christopher on Tony's orders for allegedly murdering Christopher's father Dickie Moltisanti.
  9. Credenzo Curtis & Stanley Johnson - Shot by Peter LaRosa and Benny Fazio on Tony and Christopher's orders to prevent them from revealing the aborted assassination plot against Carmine Lupertazzi.
  10. Jack Massarone - Shot in the head by an unknown person on Tony Soprano's orders for being a snitch.
  11. Adriana La Cerva - Shot by Silvio on Tony's orders after Christopher informed Tony about Adriana being an FBI informant.
  12. Eddie Pietro and Rusty Millio - Shot by Italo and Salvatore on Tony and Christopher's orders as a favor to Johnny Sacrimoni.
  13. Rene LeCours - Shot by Bobby Baccalieri on the orders of Tony to save money on pharmaceutical pills.
  14. Alec Kastropovich - Shot by Italo on Tony and Paulie's orders after being mistaken for Phil.
  15. Yaryna Kastropovich - Shot by Italo for witnessing her father's murder.
  16. Phil Leotardo - Shot by Walden Belfiore on Tony's orders for threatening his life and the DiMeo family.
Deaths connected to Tony Soprano.
  1. John Clayborn - Shot in the head by his accomplice, Rasheen Ray accidentally, due to Tony fighting off Clayborn in self-defense during their assassination attempt on Tony.
  2. Richie Aprile - Shot to death by Janice during a fight, with Tony helping Janice dispose of the body.
  3. Gloria Trillo - Hung herself after Tony threatens to murder her if she tries coming back to him.
Total number of victims

Overall[]

  • 27 victims
    • 8 killed directly
    • 16 killed on his orders
    • 3 deaths connected to him

Relationships[]

Family

  • Johnny Soprano (father)
  • Livia Soprano (mother)
  • Carmela Soprano (wife)
  • Meadow Soprano (daughter)
  • Anthony Soprano, Jr. (son)
  • Janice Soprano (older sister)
  • Barbara Giglione (younger sister)
  • Corrado Soprano, Sr. (paternal grandfather)
  • Mariangela Soprano (paternal grandmother)
  • Corrado "Junior" Soprano, Jr. (paternal uncle)
  • Ercole Soprano (paternal uncle)
  • Quintina Blundetto (maternal aunt)
  • Tony Blundetto (cousin)
  • Hugh DeAngelis (father-in-law)
  • Mary DeAngelis (mother-in-law)
  • Bobby Baccalieri, Jr. (brother-in-law)
  • Bobby Baccalieri III (step-nephew)
  • Sophia Baccalieri (step-niece)
  • Domenica Baccalieri (niece)
  • Thomas Giglione, Jr. (brother-in-law)
  • Alyssa Giglione (niece)
  • Thomas Giglione III (nephew)
  • Christopher Moltisanti (first cousin once-removed by marriage)
  • Brian Cammarata (cousin-in-law)
  • Ercole Soprano (paternal great-grandfather)
  • Frank Soprano (paternal great-uncle)
  • Dickie Moltisanti (cousin-in-law)
  • Chickie Sasso (first cousin once-removed)
  • Harpo Soprano (nephew)
  • Unnamed sister-in-law

Allies

Enemies

Quotes[]

I'm like King Midas in reverse. Everything I touch turns to shit.
~ Tony Soprano
What use is an unloaded gun?
~ Tony Soprano
I wipe my ass with your feelings.
~ Tony Soprano to Christopher Moltisanti.
A wrong decision is better than indecision.
~ Tony Soprano
When I was a kid, guys like me were brought up to follow codes.
~ Tony Soprano
A.J: Focus on the good times.

Tony: Don't be sarcastic.
A.J: Isn't that what you said that one time? Try to remember the times that were good?
Tony: I did?
A.J: Yeah.
Tony: Well, it's true, I guess.

~ Tony's last conversation with his son, remembering the end of the first season.
I went ahead and ordered some for the table.
~ Tony Soprano's last words before his supposed death.

Trivia[]

  • When the series finale of The Sopranos aired, viewers were widely expecting Tony to be killed in the final episode. However, the series instead ends with the show abruptly cutting to black during a mundane scene of Tony eating onion rings with his family in a restaurant, while the song "Don't Stop Believing" by the band Journey plays. The finale baffled and disappointed thousands of viewers around the world and was widely discussed in the entertainment media, inspiring numerous parodies. It is possible that Tony was in fact killed in the final scene, and the screen cutting to black represents him dying, but it is not confirmed either way and the series creator has stated that the ending was meant to be ambiguous. The infamous "cut to black" was also mentioned by Bobby Baccalieri. He said that when you die, you won't hear it or know it is happening. The man going to the bathroom in this scene was also a reference to The Godfather.
    • In a November 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, David Chase elaborated that he originally envisioned a scene in which Soprano would drive to New York from New Jersey, the reverse of the route followed in every episode's opening sequence and arrive at a meeting in which he would have been killed, but changed it to a version after he drove past a small Ocean Park Boulevard restaurant, deciding that Tony should die in a place like that. As a result, some people interpreted his comments as confirmation that Tony died in the final scene. However, it is unclear whether or not Chase was referring to the original version of that scene in a diner or the finalized version where the screen cut to black, which still leaves the ending ambiguous.
  • The two assassins that attempt to kill Tony while he is buying orange juice is a reference to The Godfather.
  • Tony is a huge fan of The Godfather.
  • Tony was ranked #33 on the Wizard Magazine's Top 100 Villains List.
  • James Gandolfini was reportedly contacted by real life members of the mafia throughout the show's lifetime, complimenting him on his "authenticity". One thing they noted to him however was that "A Don never wears shorts".[1]
  • Throughout the series and the many fights Tony gets into, the only one he ever loses is against his brother-in-law Bobby Baccalieri, who ironically is one of the nicest and least violent gangsters in the series. Bobby managed to actually beat Tony by first sucker-punching him while Tony was insulting him and his wife and unlike all of Tony's other opponents, Bobby is one of the very few people in the series bigger than Tony. Granted, Tony is correct when he says Bobby didn't fight fair with the sucker punch, but he is no stranger to ambushes either.

References[]

External Links[]

Navigation[]

The Sopranos logo Villains

DiMeo Crime Family
Bosses
Ercole DiMeo | Jackie Aprile Sr. | Junior Soprano | Tony Soprano
Altieri Crew
Jimmy Altieri | Carlo Gervasi | Jason Gervasi | Jason Parisi | Walden Belfiore
Aprile Crew
Richie Aprile | Jackie Aprile Sr. | Carlo Renzi | Dino Zerilli | Eugene Pontecorvo | Jackie Aprile Jr. | Ralph Cifaretto | Vito Spatafore
Barese Crew
Larry Barese | Albert Barese | Nicholas Spagnelli | Rusty Irish
Junior Crew
Junior Soprano | Beppy Scerbo | Bobby Baccalieri Jr. | Chucky Signore | Donnie Paduana | Mikey Palmice | Phillip Parisi
La Manna Crew
Feech La Manna | E. Gary La Manna | Jimmy La Manna |
Soprano Crew
Tony Soprano | Johnny Boy Soprano | Buddha Bonpensiero | Benny Fazio | Brendan Filone | Cary DiBartolo | Christopher Moltisanti | Dickie Moltisanti | Furio Giunta | Gigi Cestone | Hesh Rabkin | Hollywood Dick Moltisanti | Little Paulie Germani | Matthew Bevilaqua | Paulie Gualtieri | Peter LaRosa | Patsy Parisi | Salvatore Bonpensiero | Sean Gismonte | Silvio Dante

Lupertazzi Crime Family
Brooklyn Crew
Jimmy Petrille
DeConcini Crew
Butch DeConcini | Coco Cogliano | Dominic | Petey B. | Raymond D'Abaldo
Leotardo/Torciano Crew
Albie Cianfalone | Anthony | Billy Leotardo | Burt Gervasi | David Pasquale | Fat Dom | Gerry Torciano | Jason Masucci | Jimmy Lauria | Joseph Peparelli | Muzzy Nardo | Old Mutt | Phil Leotardo
Long Island Crew
Jerry Basille | Johnny Sacrimoni
Miami Crew
Angelo Garepe | Carmine Lupertazzi | Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. | Jason Evanina | Lorraine Calluzzo
Millio Crew
Eddie Pietro | Rusty Millio
Santoro Crew
Doc Santoro

Other
Barry Haydu | Credenzo Curtis | Cyril | Don Hauser | Emil Kolar | Frank Lucas | Gloria Trillo | Harold McBrayer | Jesus Rossi | John Clayborn and Rasheen Ray | Janice Soprano | Livia Soprano | Mustang Sally | Matush Giamona | Salvatore Moltisanti | Stanley Johnson | Tony Blundetto | Valery | Special K and Antjuan

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