Anthony John Soprano is a fictional character and the antihero protagonist in the HBO television drama series The Sopranos portrayed by James Gandolfini.
90 Facts About Tony Soprano
2.
Tony Soprano is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, especially later in the series, acts as the boss of the fictional North Jersey DiMeo crime family.
3.
Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to street boss, a position he retains until the sixth season; his uncle Corrado "Junior" Tony Soprano is the official boss up until early in the sixth season but has little or no actual power.
4.
James Gandolfini was invited to audition for the part of Tony Soprano after casting director Susan Fitzgerald saw a short clip of his performance in the 1993 film True Romance, ultimately receiving the role ahead of several other actors due to his large stature and acting capability.
5.
The name "Tony Soprano" came from a family friend that Chase had named Toby Soprano.
6.
Tony Soprano was born in 1959 to Livia and Johnny Soprano.
7.
Tony Soprano's father was a capo in the DiMeo crime family.
8.
Tony Soprano grew up living with his parents and two sisters, Janice and Barbara, in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey.
9.
Tony Soprano was a master stonemason who helped to build a church in Tony's old neighborhood.
10.
Tony Soprano has a troubled relationship with Janice, due to her flighty and impulsive nature, which leads to her constantly relying on him for financial and emotional support.
11.
In high school, Tony Soprano met his future wife, Carmela DeAngelis, and became friends with Artie Bucco and Davey Scatino.
12.
Tony Soprano was close to his maternal cousin Tony Blundetto.
13.
For years after, Tony Soprano claimed that he had sustained the injury during a mugging, a story he maintained to allay his guilt.
14.
Under the tutelage of his father's friend Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri, Tony Soprano committed his first murder in 1982, killing a small-time bookie named Willie Overall.
15.
Tony Soprano became acting capo of his father's old crew, a position which eventually became permanent.
16.
However, Tony Soprano brings a quick end to the conflict by endorsing Junior as the official boss of the family.
17.
Tony Soprano has to "show the sad face" while the rest of the family grieves, but Tony reassures himself that Moltisanti's murder was necessary, despite the hurt caused to the family.
18.
The murder of Fabian "Febby" Petrulio in "College" is out of retaliation for Febby getting members of Tony Soprano's crew sent to prison when he ratted them out to get immunity.
19.
Tony Soprano is at first tempted to spare his old friend and even seems to be in denial for quite a long time, but in the end, realizes his priorities.
20.
Tony Soprano kills Ralph Cifaretto after their horse, Pie-O-My, dies amid suspicious circumstances in "Whoever Did This".
21.
Tony Soprano tries to confront Ralph about the situation but, after some heated words, Tony Soprano loses control and murders Ralph following a violent fight.
22.
Tony Soprano takes pleasure in the murder because it was revenge for the attempted hit on a loved one.
23.
Tony Soprano is about to call 911 following a motor vehicle accident.
24.
Tony Soprano looks at the baby seat on the backseat of the SUV which had been destroyed by a tree branch, closes his phone, and suffocates Christopher by holding his nose shut so that he chokes to death on his blood.
25.
Tony Soprano often tells people about her aspiration to become a pediatrician.
26.
Tony Soprano is initially pleased with the relationship, believing Jackie to be a hard-working pre-med student from a good family.
27.
Tony Soprano eventually beats Jackie up to warn him about abusing his daughter's feelings and confiscates his gun.
28.
Tony Soprano begins seeing much of himself and his treatment of Carmela in Jackie's relationship with Meadow.
29.
Tony Soprano is an animal lover and enjoys feeding the ducks who visit his pool.
30.
Tony Soprano has a sentimental attachment towards animals, as he had been traumatized by the loss of his childhood dog, whose name was "Tippy".
31.
Tony Soprano becomes involved in horse racing through his friend Hesh Rabkin, who owns a stable, and invests in a racehorse named Pie-O-My.
32.
Tony Soprano brings it back to Satriale's, where it stares at the deceased Chris Moltisanti's photo.
33.
Tony Soprano can be seen smoking a cigar during important events, such as shortly before being told of his mother's death and when disposing of Ralph Cifaretto's corpse.
34.
Tony Soprano is a gun enthusiast and is shown to have an arsenal in his home.
35.
Tony Soprano gives guns as birthday gifts to his father-in-law Hugh DeAngelis and receives one from Bobby Baccialieri on his birthday.
36.
Tony Soprano enjoys sports, particularly baseball, football, basketball, golf, and horse racing.
37.
Tony Soprano played baseball and football at West Essex High School, and is a fan of the New York Yankees and New York Jets.
38.
Tony Soprano plays golf with Johnny Sack at Upper Montclair Country Club.
39.
Tony Soprano is an amateur yachtsman and has owned two motor yachts throughout the show: Stugots and Stugots II, where several of his affairs take place.
40.
Tony Soprano maintains an avid interest in history, particularly World War II.
41.
Tony Soprano is a big fan of President John F Kennedy and owns one of his captain sailors hats, which he won at an auction.
42.
Tony Soprano is often shown watching programs on the History Channel about great leaders such as George S Patton, Erwin Rommel, and Winston Churchill.
43.
Tony Soprano reads The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which is quoted by several other characters on the show, particularly Paulie Walnuts.
44.
Tony Soprano listens to classic, progressive rock and pop music, particularly of the 1960s and 1970s.
45.
Tony Soprano has this Escalade until the end of the series.
46.
Tony Soprano has occasionally used Carmela's Mercedes-Benz E Class station wagon and drove it when they went places together.
47.
Tony Soprano typically has mistresses whom he consistently sees for long periods, though he has several brief one-night stands with strippers from the Bada Bing.
48.
Tony Soprano has a strong preference for women of European, particularly Italian descent, with dark hair and eyes and exotic features.
49.
Tony Soprano's mistresses have been, in chronological order, of Russian, Italian, Italian-Cuban, and Jewish descent.
50.
Tony Soprano has one very short encounter with an Asian-American escort during "The Test Dream".
51.
Tony Soprano loses consciousness and causes a small explosion when he drops a bottle of lighter fluid onto the coals.
52.
Tony Soprano describes the experience of the panic attack as feeling like he had "ginger ale in his skull".
53.
Tony Soprano is initially very resistant to the idea that there was a psychiatric cause for his symptoms.
54.
Tony Soprano resents being in therapy and refuses to accept the diagnosis of panic attacks given him by the neurologists who had investigated his illness.
55.
Tony Soprano begins to open up once Dr Melfi explains the doctor-patient confidentiality rules.
56.
Tony Soprano tells Dr Melfi a story about ducks landing in his pool.
57.
Tony Soprano describes his mother Livia as a cold, mean-spirited woman with whom he has an openly hostile relationship.
58.
At their next session, Tony Soprano is still reluctant to face his psychological weaknesses.
59.
Tony Soprano describes a dream where a bird steals his penis.
60.
Melfi extrapolates that Tony Soprano has projected his love for his family onto the family of ducks living in his pool.
61.
Tony Soprano admits that he feels guilty because his mother could not be allowed to live with his family.
62.
Tony Soprano blames Carmela for preventing his mother from living with them.
63.
Tony Soprano has a panic attack while visiting his mother's home after she moves to Green Grove.
64.
In "Denial, Anger, Acceptance", Tony Soprano discusses Jackie's cancer with Dr Melfi.
65.
Tony Soprano tries to use it as an example of Tony's negative thinking contributing to his depression.
66.
Tony Soprano feels she is trying to trick him and manipulate his thoughts using the pictures that decorate her office.
67.
In "Fortunate Son", Tony Soprano discusses a childhood memory of an early panic attack.
68.
Tony Soprano saw his father and uncle mutilate Mr Satriale, the local butcher, and later fainted at a family dinner made with free meat from Satriale's shop.
69.
Tony Soprano explores his mother's attitude to the fruits of his father's labor.
70.
Tony Soprano sees Isabella several times during the episode and later learns that she never existed.
71.
Melfi theorizes that Isabella was an idealized maternal figure that Tony Soprano's subconscious produced because he was deeply upset about his own mother's actions at the time.
72.
In "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano", Tony Soprano abruptly ends his therapy and persuades Dr Melfi to go into hiding when he discovers that Uncle Junior has found out about their sessions.
73.
Finally, in the penultimate episode of the series, "The Blue Comet", Melfi severs her relationship with Tony Soprano after reading research recommended by her therapist that indicates sociopaths can use talk therapy to improve their skills in manipulating others and use what is learned in therapy to become more capable criminals.
74.
Tony Soprano sustains an injury to his ear, which is partially shot off, and minor bruises and cuts from crashing his vehicle.
75.
Tony Soprano has yet to discuss his experiences while unconscious with anyone close to him.
76.
Tony Soprano is on bed rest for a few days and quickly recovers.
77.
Tony Soprano sometimes has vivid dreams that are shown to the viewer.
78.
Tony Soprano tries to find a car mechanic to put it back on, but a duck swoops down and snatches it from his hand.
79.
In "Pax Soprana", Tony Soprano has several dreams and fantasies about Dr Melfi.
80.
Tony Soprano becomes convinced that he is in love with her, but she turns him down when he makes advances toward her.
81.
In "Isabella", Tony Soprano, suffering from depression after Big Pussy disappears, acquaints himself with a dental student named Isabella who is staying in the Cusamano home while they are on vacation.
82.
Tony Soprano later discovers that he'd hallucinated Isabella due to taking too much lithium and that Isabella represented the mother he never had.
83.
In "Calling All Cars", Tony Soprano has two dreams featuring Ralph Cifaretto.
84.
Tony Soprano says he is there for the stonemason job but does not speak English well.
85.
Just as Tony Soprano is about to enter the house, he wakes up.
86.
In "The Test Dream", Tony Soprano comes to terms with having to kill his cousin Tony Soprano Blundetto.
87.
Tony Soprano is again shown in his father's old car, accompanied by a range of past associates.
88.
In "Join the Club", a comatose Tony Soprano finds himself in an alternate universe where he is a law-abiding salesman on a business trip.
89.
In "Kennedy and Heidi", a stressed Tony Soprano has a dream following the death of Christopher Moltisanti.
90.
The character of Tony Soprano was the first likable "antihero" character in television.