Anthony "Tony" John Soprano, 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, acts as the boss of the fictional DiMeo crime family of North Jersey. The character was conceived 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 North Jersey faction of the Genovese crime family, and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, a former caporegime and de facto boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. 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 of a violent sociopath, struggles with depression and is prone to panic attacks. From the pilot episode, he seeks treatment from Dr. Jennifer Melfi (a character Chase modeled after his own psychiatrist) and remains in therapy on and off until the penultimate episode of the series.
Both the Tony Soprano character and Gandolfini's performance garnered widespread critical acclaim, with Soprano often being cited as one of the greatest and most influential characters in television history. For his portrayal of the character, Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series, three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Male Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and two additional SAG Awards for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Source : Wikipedia
