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Anthony John Soprano, Sr., played by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos, created by David Chase. The show's exceedingly complex protagonist, he is the only character to appear in every episode of the show. He is the De facto Boss of the DiMeo Crime Family.
Tony has to juggle northern New Jersey's most powerful criminal organization, keeping it functioning properly and keeping dissonance to a minimum. The relationship between Tony and his uncle, Corrado John Soprano, Jr.
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Anthony John Soprano, Sr., played by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos, created by David Chase. The show's exceedingly complex protagonist, he is the only character to appear in every episode of the show. He is the De facto Boss of the DiMeo Crime Family.
Tony has to juggle northern New Jersey's most powerful criminal organization, keeping it functioning properly and keeping dissonance to a minimum. The relationship between Tony and his uncle, Corrado John Soprano, Jr. (better known as Junior Soprano), was very close for many years, with Junior acting as a father figure for Tony following the death of Giovanni (AKA Johnny Boy) Soprano, Tony's father. However, the relationship was strained when a disgruntled Junior became more and more marginalized in the organization as the FBI's investigation into his activities increased. He had Brendan Filone killed, which infuriated Tony. Furthermore, he conspired with Tony's own mother, Livia Soprano, to have Tony killed (although the hit failed).
Despite a level of local notoriety, Tony has represented himself publicly as a waste management consultant to Barone Sanitation, one of the many fronts for his criminal enterprises. Tony had been using his putative nephew Christopher Moltisanti as a buffer between him and his capos during the past two seasons in order to insulate himself from the FBI. This subterfuge ended when Moltisanti was killed by Tony after an automobile accident. Bobby Baccalieri was being groomed as Moltisanti's replacement until he was killed by Phil Leotardo's hitmen when the Lupertazzi Crime Family launched a war against the DiMeo Crime Family. Tony managed to strike a truce with Phil's underlings, however, and after Phil is assassinated, Tony returns safely to his criminal enterprise. He is last shown having dinner with his family at the famous Holsten's restaurant in New Jersey, though the possibility of a criminal indictment, thanks to a gun charge and testimony from Carlo Gervasi, looms over his head. A patron in Holsten's credited as "Man in Members Only Jacket" ominously looks twice in Tony's direction and then walks past Tony's booth to the restroom. With the song Don't Stop Believing playing in the background, the scene stops after his daughter Meadow approaches the restaurant and he simply looks up at the door with a simple stare; the blank screen continues for ten seconds before the credits. This ending's significance has been a subject of heavy discussion whether he was actually killed in the restaurant or not.
Past
Tony was born on August 24 1960, to Livia and "Johnny Boy" Soprano. Tony grew up living with his mother, father, and two sisters Janice and Barbara in the Ironbound in Newark, New Jersey. His father was always involved in crime and Tony recalls some of his activities in flashbacks on the show.
A young Tony has been portrayed by several actors. Bobby Boriello played Tony in the episode "Down Neck" in which Tony recalls many childhood events relating to his childhood realization that his father was involved in organized crime, including his recollection of father's relationship with his older sister, Janice, and his use of her as a cover for attending meetings with criminal associates at a children's fair. At the time, Tony thought Janice was his father's favorite child. In therapy, when asked to remember happy childhood memories about his mother, Tony struggled to come up with any; he later described her as a joyless woman who wore his father down "to a little nub." Tony also has a mostly unfriendly relationship with Janice because she is always asking him for money and once tried to sell Livia's house by herself. Tony also had to deal with her previous boyfriend Richie Aprile, after Janice killed him.
Tony went to high school with Artie Bucco and Davey Scatino and remained friends with them into later life. It was in high school he met his future bride, Carmela DeAngelis. Tony was also close to his cousin Tony Blundetto, and neighborhood kids used to call them Tony Uncle-Al and Tony Uncle-Johnny after their fathers to tell them apart.
In their teenage years, the two Tonys spent summers at their Uncle Pat Blundetto's farm — Pat was a soldier in the DiMeo organization. They were sometimes joined by their younger cousin Christopher Moltisanti, whom they bullied. Tony B was arrested for his part in a hijacking when the two Tonys were young men. Tony S was supposed to join Tony B on the job but failed to because of a panic attack; at the time, he told people he'd been attacked by a couple of "mulignans" and injured. Tony also attended Seton Hall University for a semester and a half before dropping out.
Tony was part of an unofficial crew of young criminals consisting of Silvio Dante, Ralph Cifaretto and Jackie Aprile, Sr. Tony gained notoriety in the DiMeo crime family by robbing a card game run by Feech La Manna along with Silvio and Jackie. From then on, he was on a fast track to becoming a made man. He committed his first murder on Labor Day 1982.
His father shepherded Tony through his ascendancy until his death in 1986 from emphysema. When he died, Johnny Boy had risen to the level of captain of his own crew — as had his brother Junior. Junior took over the paternal role and continued to advise and assist Tony. Tony remembers having to buy expensive dinners for Richie Aprile as a newly made man. Soldiers from Johnny Boy's crew, Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero and Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri, passed their loyalty on to Tony, and he became capo of his father's old crew. Old friend Silvio Dante joined him in the group.
By 1995, Tony was a well-respected Capo in the organization when the boss of the family, Eckley DiMeo, was sent to prison. Tony's longtime friend and fellow captain Jackie Aprile, Sr. took on the role of acting boss in December 1995. With DiMeo in prison, Aprile became the official Acting Boss of the family.
Under Jackie's wise and respected rule, the DiMeo Family was peaceful and prosperous until 1998. Jackie was diagnosed with intestinal cancer early in the year, and the family slowly descended into turmoil. With Jackie in and out of the hospital, and as such not able to fully run the family, Tony began to take on many of his duties, much to Uncle Junior's chagrin.
For a time in early 1999, Jackie seemed cured and was back on the street as boss and the family's woes were eased. But by late spring, he was back in the hospital and had begun chemotherapy treatments. With Tony's role in the family's operation increasing and disagreements including Tony thwarting Junior's plot to kill Pussy Malanga, tensions between Tony and Uncle Junior rose and reached an all-time high as Jackie's condition turned for the worse.
With Jackie's death in mid-1999, a crisis emerged as to who would run the family, and the soldiers and other captains began to prepare for all-out war within the family, but Tony brought a quick end to the conflict by making Junior the nominal boss of the family. Junior would unknowingly act as the lightning rod for the feds, while Tony would run the family from behind the scenes.
Tony's grandfather, Corrado Soprano Sr. was a stone mason who emigrated from Avellino in Italy in 1910. He helped to build a church in Tony's old neighborhood that Tony occasionally takes his children to so he can tell them about their past. Tony also recalls that when he was 13 his father would let him play around on his construction sites, even driving heavy machinery.
Murders committed by Tony Soprano
Tony has personally committed at least 8 categoric murders in the show, although he may have committed others that have not been shown or referenced considering his lengthy career in the mafia. Furthermore, as a Boss, he is fully responsible for the deaths of others killed on his orders. The 8 known killings, all (save the first) explicitly presented onscreen, were:
- Willie Overall, shot and killed by Tony to become a made guy (1982)
- Fabian "Febby" Petrullio, strangled by Tony for ratting out members of Paulie and Pussy's crew and joining witness protection. (1999)
- Chucky Signore, shot and killed by Tony for conspiring to kill him with Junior (1999)
- Matthew Bevilaqua, killed by Tony and Big Pussy for attempting to kill Christopher (2000)
- Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, executed by Tony, Silvio and Paulie after discovering he was an FBI informant (2000)
- Ralph Cifaretto, choked/bludgeoned to death for supposedly killing Tony's prize winning race horse Pie-O-My for insurance money (2002)
- Tony Blundetto, shot and killed by Tony for the unauthorized killings of Joe Peeps and Billy Leotardo [Prevents a blood war with NY] (2004)
Some murders hit him on a personal and emotional level leaving him perplexed as to how to cope with the situation. Most notably, after the murder of his "nephew" Christopher Moltisanti, he feels a rush of relief for finally being rid of his nephew, whom he nevers feels he is able to fully trust. However, he was plagued in having to "show the sad face" while the rest of his family grieves. However, Tony reassures himself that Chris' murder was necessary, despite the hurt caused to the people close to Christopher.
The murder of "Big Pussy" in "Funhouse" weighed heavily on Tony. Being his closest ally turned informant, Tony almost felt he wanted to give him a pass, but in the end knew what his priorities were. In the years to follow, Tony — along with Silvio and Paulie — had haunting dreams of the murder of their best friend.
Ralph Cifaretto's death came from Tony's outrage as he accused Ralph of killing his horse in "Whoever Did This". Tony tried to confront Ralph about the situation but after some heated words, Tony lost control and violently murdered Ralph. Though no solid proof was found that the fire killing Pie-O-My was arson, Tony was convinced Ralph did it. Despite Cifaretto's claims, Tony took satisfaction in disposing of his capo.
The murder of Matthew Bevilaqua was pure vengeance and an act that had to be carried out since Christopher getting shot was a direct insult to him. Tony took satisfaction in it, as it was revenge against an attempt on the life of one of his relatives.
The murder of his cousin Tony Blundetto was solely to save him the painful death if he were to fall into Phil's hands, and also so that Tony did not lose his reputation as a boss.
As a father
Tony has two children: Meadow Soprano and Anthony (A.J.) Soprano. He also treated his putative nephew, Christopher Moltisanti (actually his wife's first cousin, once removed), as a son in many ways.
Tony is often portrayed as a loving father — he attends his children's sporting events and wants them to be safe, happy and to have every opportunity in life. He hopes that both his children will escape the life of crime he has led. Tony takes great pride in Meadow's achievements. In Season 1, he is moved to tears by her performance at a choir recital. He often tells people about her aspiration to become a pediatrician.
However, he also sometimes alienates his children with his behavior. He has always tried to conceal his criminal life from them — something that Meadow saw through early on and A.J. also realized with guidance from his sister.
Tony's over-protectiveness of Meadow has led to feuds between them on several occasions. For example, her first boyfriend at college had a mixed Jewish and African-American heritage, and Tony's racism led him to try to drive him away. Meadow learned of her father's actions and didn't speak to him for several months, eventually reconciling at Christmas in 2001.
Meadow's next boyfriend was Jackie Aprile, Jr., the son of Tony's old friend Jackie Aprile, Sr. Tony had promised Jackie Jr.'s father that he would try to keep his son on the straight path. Tony was initially pleased with the relationship, believing Jackie to be a hard-working pre-med student from a good family.
However, since his Uncle Richie's release from prison and subsequent death, Jackie had become more and more involved in the Mafia. Tony realized this by catching Jackie at strip clubs and a casino. He eventually delivered a beating to Jackie to warn him about abusing his daughter's feelings and confiscated a gun from him. Tony failed in his role as surrogate father to Jackie Jr., perhaps because of his over-protectiveness of Meadow and a sign of his selfishness. Jackie was eventually killed by Vito. This drove Meadow to drinking and depression at the loss of her boyfriend, although they'd broken up shortly before his death.
After Jackie's death, Tony accepts Meadow's college friends and got on well with her fiancé, Finn, before the two separated under unrevealed circumstances.
Tony's feelings toward his son, however, are mixed, especially with worries about his future. From the beginning, Tony understood that his son would not be his successor, as A.J. lacks both the range and the aggressive nature of his father: Tony instead tells A.J. numerous times that he is proud that his son is gentle and kind. Tony was especially proud of A.J.'s prowess on the football field, even amid his failing grades in high school, but is frustrated with A.J.'s path after graduation.
After failing out of Ramapo State, A.J. loafed around the house, partied, and for a time held a job at Blockbuster, until his father, hoping to keep A.J. away from a life of crime, got him a job working construction. It was there that A.J. met Blanca, and in Tony's opinion, A.J. was doing well until he and Blanca broke up. Tony's worries again amplified around A.J.'s depression, a 'rotten putrid gene' that Tony believes he passed down to his son.
Hoping to get A.J. back on track, Tony rekindled A.J.'s friendship with "the Jasons", sons of two of his associates, and A.J. seems to be doing better. With the help of a therapist and medication, A.J. is finally getting back to college, this time at Rutgers, to take classes and party with girls as Tony believes every college kid should. This later turns sour after A.J. sees his new friends attack a Somalian student on a bike and he returns to depression. A.J. attempts suicide by drowning but decides he wants to live. Unable to escape the pool, it is Tony who discovers him, hears his cries for help, and rescues him. After A.J. is released from a mental-health ward, Tony and Carmela convince him to not join the Army and instead become involved in a film bankrolled by Carmine Lupertazzi, Jr., with the possibility of opening his own club.
Extramarital Affairs
Tony has a penchant for carrying on extramarital affairs. His wife Carmela knows about this and usually turns a blind eye, though sometimes the bottled-up tensions explode in domestic arguments - particularly at the end of Season 4, when Tony's affairs drive Carmela to separate from him. He typically has mistresses who he consistently sees for long periods of time, though he also has a number of brief one-night-stands with prostitutes and strippers.
Tony has a strong preference for women of European descent, with dark hair and eyes and exotic features. His mistresses have been, in chronological order, of Russian, Italian, Italian/Cuban, and Jewish descent. He favors dark features but also had a few brief flings with blonde European women, including a Russian housekeeper and a stewardess from Icelandic Airways. And he had one very short encounter with an Asian-American escort during The Test Dream.
Mistresses:
- Irina - a young Russian woman who he sees consistently throughout the first two seasons. She is a severe alcoholic and frequently calls Tony's house when drunk, leading him to break off this relationship eventually.
- Gloria Trillo - an Italian-American Mercedes saleswoman with stylish tastes and exotic looks. Tony dates her throughout Season 3 after meeting her at Dr. Melfi's office. But he eventually stops seeing her when she begins stalking him and calling his house. She eventually commits suicide after the breakup.
- Valentina La Paz - a beautiful art dealer of Cuban and Italian descent. Initially the mistress of Ralph Cifaretto, Tony "steals" her away and dates her throughout Season 4. They share a love of horses, and she visits Pie-O-My at the stable with Tony. She accidentally sets herself on fire in Season 5 while cooking a meal for Tony. Shortly thereafter he decides to get back together with Carmela, and he breaks up with Valentina while she is in the hospital recovering. They end the relationship on bad terms.
- Julianna Skiff - a real estate developer of Jewish descent. She meets Tony in Season 6 when offering to buy a building that he owns. They begin an affair, along with a business relationship, but ironically never consummate their relationship sexually - Tony backs off and decides to be faithful to Carmela. Julianna eventually dates Christopher Moltisanti and the two begin a very destructive co-dependent drug habit.
Therapy
Tony has suffered from panic attacks that sometimes cause him to lose consciousness since his childhood. He has his first on-screen panic attack while cooking sausages at his son's birthday party — this occurs in a flashback in the pilot episode. Tony loses consciousness and causes a small explosion when he drops a bottle of lighter fluid onto the coals. Tony describes the experience of the panic attack as feeling like he had "ginger ale in his skull". This prompts him to seek help for the attacks. After extensive testing that includes an MRI scan and blood work no physical cause can be found so Dr. Cusamano referred Tony to psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi.
Tony's referral to therapy allowed a discussion of his thoughts and feelings away from both aspects of his life — this forum for reaching into the characters thoughts has been described as a Greek chorus and key to the viewers understanding of the character.
Tony was initially very resistant to the idea that there was a psychiatric cause for his symptoms. He resented being in therapy and refused to accept the diagnosis of panic attacks given him by the neurologists who had investigated his illness. Tony begins to open up once Dr. Melfi explains the doctor-patient confidentiality rules. He tells her about the stress of his business life — he has a feeling that he has come in at the end of something and describes a reverence for times past. Tony leaves out the violence associated with his criminal career. Tony tells Dr. Melfi a story about ducks landing in his pool. He also tells her about his mother, Livia, who is relentlessly pessimistic and cynical, at once demanding and resentful of assistance. By the end of the first session Tony has admitted that he feels depressed but storms out when Dr. Melfi presses him further about the relationship between his symptoms and the ducks.
When the family visits Green Grove, a retirement community which Tony is trying to place his mother in, Livia's derisive outburst prompts a second panic attack.
Dr. Melfi's prescribed Prozac as an anti-depressant for Tony telling him that no-one need suffer from depression with the wonders of modern pharmacology. Tony fails to attend their next scheduled session.
At their next session Tony is still reluctant to face his own psychological weaknesses. Tony is quick to credit the medication for his improved mood but Dr. Melfi tells him it cannot be that as it takes 6 weeks to work — she credits their therapy sessions. Tony describes a dream where a bird steals his penis — Dr. Melfi extrapolates from this to reveal that Tony projected his love for his family onto the family of ducks living in his back pool and this brings him to tears, to his consternation. She tells him that their flight from the pool sparked his panic attack through the overwhelming fear of somehow losing his own family.
In the episode "46 Long" they continue discussing Tony's mother and her difficulties living alone. Tony admits that he feels guilty because his mother could not be allowed to live with his family. We learn that he has been left to care for his mother alone by his sisters. When Dr. Melfi asks him to remember good experiences from his childhood he has difficulty. It is clear that Tony's perception of his mother does not meet with the reality of her personality. He also shows that he blames Carmela for preventing his mother from living with them. Later they discuss Livia's car accident and Melfi suggests depression may have contributed to the accident - Tony misunderstands her and becomes angry. Tony has a panic attack while visiting his mother's home after she moves to Green Grove. In a later session Dr. Melfi pushes Tony to admit he has feelings of anger towards his mother and he again storms out. During this episode Tony introduces the concept of him acting like the sad clown - happy on the outside but sad on the inside.
In "Denial, Anger, Acceptance" Tony discusses Jackie's cancer with Dr. Melfi. She tries to use it as an example of Tony's negative thinking contributing to his depression. Tony becomes angry and storms out because he feels she is trying to trick him and manipulate his thoughts using the pictures that decorate her office. After Jackie worsens and Tony is called a Frankenstein by a business associate he returns to therapy to discuss these things with Dr. Melfi — she asks him if he feels like a monster.
In "Fortunate Son" Tony discusses a childhood memory of an early panic attack. He 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. Dr. Melfi makes a connection between meat and Tony's panic attacks and also explores his mother's attitude to the fruits of his father's labor.
Later Dr. Melfi tries prescribing Lithium as a mood stabilizer. In the episode "Isabella" Tony sinks into a severe depressive episode and experiences hallucinations — he sees a beautiful Italian woman named Isabella in his neighbor's garden. Tony sees Isabella several times during the episode and later learns that she never existed. Melfi theorizes that Isabella was an idealized maternal figure that Tony's subconscious produced because of he was deeply upset at his own mother's actions at the time.
In "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano" Tony abruptly ends his therapy and persuades Dr. Melfi to go into hiding when he discovers that his Uncle Junior has found out about their sessions.
The relationship between Tony and Dr. Melfi has been up-and-down, with Tony reaching a level of comfort with Dr. Melfi that he has never experienced with anyone else before, not even his wife. This closeness leads Tony to have something of a "crush" on Dr. Melfi, something that is unattainable. However, the "prying" from Dr. Melfi is uncomfortable for Tony and he often turns sarcastic and antagonistic towards her, leading to an ongoing strain in their relationship.
During the episode "The Second Coming", aired in part II of season six, Melfi's own therapist suggests to her that her work with Tony could be considered enabling toward Tony's sociopathic tendencies. Finally, in the penultimate episode of the series, "The Blue Comet", Melfi severs her relationship with Tony as his therapist.
Injury
In the first season, Tony is attacked by John Clayborn and Rasheen Ray, two thugs sent by Donnie Paduana under order to execute Tony. Tony sustains some minor bruises and cuts from crashing his vehicle. One of the two assailants, Clayborn, is shot dead by Ray in an attempt to kill Tony, and Ray is left bruised but runs off.
In the premiere of the sixth season (spring 2006), Junior Soprano, suffering from dementia, believes Tony to be "Little Pussy" Malanga and shoots him in the abdomen. He manages to dial 911 but loses consciousness before being able to tell the operator what happened.
The second episode of the sixth season reveals Tony is currently in a medically-induced coma in the hospital. In the second and third episode the viewer sees Tony in a dream-like state, eventually arriving at what could be purgatory or perhaps an alternate life, where he is greeted by a man who takes the physical form of his late cousin Tony Blundetto. It is also possible the shadowy figure in the doorway to the house is either his mother or Gloria Trillo, both of whom are dead. The voice of a younger version of his daughter calls him back. At the end of the third episode he awakes from his coma in a confused but stable state.
By the fourth episode Tony is mobile and fully aware and has regained his voice but is still recovering. Tony's attitude to life has been changed by his near death experience. He has yet to discuss his experiences while unconscious with anyone close to him. However, in the Season 6 episode "Kaisha", he admits to Phil Leotardo (who had just suffered a heart attack), that while he was in a coma, he went to a place, but he knows he never wants to go back there. He talks philosophy with John Schwinn, another patient at the hospital, and mentions that while in the coma he had the experience of being drawn towards somewhere he did not want to go and narrowly avoiding it.
In the sixth episode of the final 9 episodes "Kennedy and Heidi", Tony sustains minor injuries in a car accident that seriously injures his nephew Christopher Moltisanti (whom Tony killed by suffocation while he (Christopher) succumbed to his injuries). He was on bed rest for about a week and quickly recovered. Nonetheless, this gave his family quite a scare and a painful memory of his nearly fatal shooting the previous year.
Dreams
Tony sometimes has vivid dreams that are shown to the viewer. Episodes with dream sequences include "Pax Soprana", "Isabella", "Funhouse", "Everybody Hurts", "Calling All Cars" and "The Test Dream".
In the pilot, Tony tells Dr. Melfi about a dream he had wherein a screw in his belly button, when removed, causes his penis to fall off. He tries to find a car mechanic (who had worked on his Lincoln when Tony drove Lincolns) to put it back on, but a duck swoops down and snatches it from his hand.
In "Meadowlands", Tony has a dream of several people in his life in Dr. Melfi's office, causing him to be paranoid that people will find out he is seeing a psychiatrist. The dream ends with Tony confronting Melfi, only to find out he's speaking to his mother, Livia.
In "Pax Soprana", Tony has several dreams and fantasies of Dr. Melfi. He becomes convinced that he is in love with her, but she turns him down when he makes advances towards her.
In "Isabella", Tony, 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. He later discovers that he'd hallucinated Isabella due to taking too much lithium, and that Isabella represented the mother he never had.
In "Funhouse", an extended dream sequence exposes many of Tony's subconscious thoughts and feelings through symbolic and sometimes bizarre events: he attempts suicide to preempt a doctor's diagnosis of early death by dousing himself in gasoline and lighting himself on fire, witnesses himself shooting Paulie "Walnuts" Gaultieri to death during a card game, has an innuendo-laden conversation with his therapist Dr. Melfi while sporting a prominent erection, and a fish that speaks with the voice of Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero confirms his suspicions that the longtime friend and soldier is a federal informant.
In "Everybody Hurts", Tony dreams of his ex-comaré Gloria Trillo shortly after learning of her suicide by hanging. He visits her apartment and finds her in a black dress with a black scarf around her neck. She is cooking dinner and when she goes over to the oven the scarf drapes across Tony. Plaster falls down in front of Tony and when he looks up he sees that the chandelier is almost pulled out of the ceiling. Gloria is suddenly back at the table and offers Tony a choice between seeing what she has under her dress or under her scarf. As she goes to peel away the scarf, Tony wakes up and makes his way to the bathroom for some medication.
In "Calling All Cars" Tony has two dreams featuring Ralph Cifaretto. In the first he is being driven by Carmela in the back of his father's old car while Ralph sits in the passenger seat. There is a caterpillar crawling on the back of Ralph's head. Tony's fellow passenger in the back seat changes — Gloria Trillo and Svetlana Kirilenko are both seen. The caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Dr. Melfi later tells him that the dream signifies a change for Ralphie (recently killed by Tony) and Carmela being in control.
In the second dream Tony follows Ralph to an old house, which Ralph enters. Tony is dressed in trousers, suspenders and a vest. He knocks on the door and a female figure descends slowly in shadow; the door creaks ominously. Tony says he is there for the stonemason job but does not speak English well (Tony's grandfather was an immigrant stonemason). Just as Tony is about to enter the house he wakes up.
In "The Test Dream", Tony comes to terms with having to kill his cousin Tony Blundetto, as well reflecting inner demons and fears ranging from his children's future, his relationship with his wife, his infidelities, deceased acquaintances including some who have died by his hand or by his orders, his fate and even his relationship with his father. He is again shown in his father's old car accompanied by a range of past associates.
In "Kennedy and Heidi", a stressed Tony Soprano has a dream following the death of his nephew Christopher Moltisanti. In this dream he tells his therapist Jennifer Melfi that Christopher was a burden and that he was relieved that he was dead. After that he also tells her that he murdered Big Pussy and his cousin Tony Blundetto. Following the dream he acts differently to his friends and family, trying to see if they also feel relieved now that Christopher is dead.
Quirks
- While he floats in a coma, his real world unravels. In these scenes, actor James Gandolfini even dropped his slurring accent, speaking in crisper sentences, and his shoulders seemed higher than usual, the weight and anguish of his mob boss life gone. What did not disappear, however, was the sound of Tony’s nasal breathing.
- War documentaries – Tony seems to be infatuated with war/history documentaries, and is often seen watching The History Channel, late at night in his home theatre. (This may be a reference to notorious Boston Mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, who is known for his deep interest in history and military leaders.)
- Playing with his food – Tony is often shown with his family and others sitting down to a formal and relaxing meal with plenty of food and wine. In such a case, however, Tony's behavior is rarely relaxed; he toys with his food with his fork scraping loudly on the plate as he moves the food around. When Tony finally eats he spears food with his fork and moves it rapidly into his mouth and then continues with moving the food on the plate. This occurs in almost every episode.
- Tony is shown to be a fan of classic rock music. He can often be seen listening to artists such as Eric Clapton, The Clash, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Rush and Deep Purple. When driving alone in the car he often ponders along loudly to the music. Before the two family related murders Tony carries out—Tony Blundetto and Christopher Moltisanti—the audience hears classic rock playing--Van Morrison's "Glad Tidings" and Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," respectively. In the final scene of the series, Tony selects Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" from a jukebox at the diner. In another episode, while receiving oral sex from a stripper while driving, the song playing on the radio is AC/DC's 'Back in Black', and in Whitecaps, he is seen listening to and whistling along to Derek and the Dominoes "Layla" in his Suburban, shortly before running over his golf clubs, and in another episode, he is listening to Rock the Casbah by The Clash while chasing Phil Leotardo.
- Terrorism – Tony is shown to have a fear of terrorism by groups like Al Qaeda. This was shown in the episode "Cold Cuts." In the episode "Walk Like A Man," Agent Harris now claims he's on the terrorism unit. Because of his fear of terrorism, Tony works with Agent Harris and gives him the phone number of two men of Muslim/Arabic descent that did deals with Christopher and visited the Bada Bing. Tony's son A.J. also starts to have an interest in terrorism, as seen in the episodes "The Second Coming" & "The Blue Comet" as Meadow sees Al-Jazeera on A.J.'s computer.
- Passing on advice – Tony will often give advice to other characters which he has heard from someone else. For example, when Carmela's cousin, Brian tells Tony to buy land "Because God ain't making any more of it" (itself a Mark Twain quote), Tony gives the same advice to his son, A.J. later in the episode.
- Deep, audible, nasal breathing most notably heard during his moments with Dr. Melfi, but audible in most scenes. In the Season 6 episode "Members Only," it is revealed that Tony suffers from sleep apnea.
- Animal lover – Tony has shown a childlike affection for many animals. First, the ducks in his backyard, and then the horse "Pie-O-My," whose death was so traumatic it led him to kill Ralph Cifaretto. During Christopher Moltisanti's intervention he became enraged when he discovered Christopher had accidentally smothered Adriana's dog while high. In "Big Girls Don't Cry" Tony becomes angry at Irina for feeding cheese doodles to ducks swimming near his boat. Also in the episode "Irregular Around the Margins" Tony flips his SUV injuring Adriana La Cerva while swerving to miss a small raccoon. This childlike affection for animals may be due to the fact that Tony's mother forced the family to give up the dog. His therapist's therapist on the other hand claims that sociopaths often show their love towards animals and small children.
- John F. Kennedy – It is revealed in several episodes that Tony has an interest in John F. Kennedy. For example, in the pilot it is shown that he had bid on and won a JFK "captain's" hat that he was very proud of and did not want to come to harm. He shares this admiration for the former President with Uncle Junior. In the episode "In Camelot", Tony meets his father's mistress and is impressed with her monogrammed JFK handkerchief and her tale of an affair with JFK. In the episode "Kennedy and Heidi," Tony refers to Christopher's wife as "Jackie Kennedy" during his wake after Tony murdered him.
- Common phrases – Often uses the phrases "just as easily" and "end of story." When being introduced to someone, his customary greeting is a casual "How you doing?". When surprised or outraged at someone he often says "Are you (fucking) kidding me?". When dealing with condolences "What you gonna do?". When trying to make a point clear to someone he often aggressively says "Now you listen to me".
- Loss of temper – Tony can go from indifferent/happy to violently angry in a split second when someone says or does something to which he is particularly sensitive. He has a tendency to pick up near by objects and attack people with them when he is angry.
- Gary Cooper – Tony occasionally uses Gary Cooper as a point of reference for how men should behave. In the pilot, he asks, "What happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type," in Dr. Melfi's office. He repeats the sentiment in the season four episode "Christopher" and the season five episode "All Happy Families...". In addition, the Cooper film High Noon is showing on a TV in Nuovo Vesuvio in the episode "The Test Dream."
- Tony refuses to acknowledge his bad acts or shortcomings. For example, in "Soprano Home Movies" he loses a fight, saying he lost "fair and square," but the next day complains about being sucker-punched.
- Sports – Tony has an interest in sports and is a New York Yankees and New York Jets fan. He attends his daughter's soccer and volleyball games and his son's football games. Tony played baseball and football at the varsity level in high school as a left fielder and defensive lineman, respectively. Tony also often watches sport on television: for example, in "All Happy Families..." he and A.J. watch baseball together. Tony derives a sense of worth from his sporting ability—he was hurt when Junior disparaged his skill at football in front of his female cousins and has a recurring dream where his old football coach chastises him for being unprepared. He also derives income from sports betting.
- Bragging – In the Season 5 episode "All Due Respect", Tony claims to have an IQ of 136 (likely influenced from his cousin, Tony Blundetto, having one of 158) and in the Season 6 episode "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request" Tony claims to have been able to bench press over 300 pounds in the past.
- Tony drives GM SUVs, as he is first seen driving a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban and, later in the series, two Cadillac Escalade ESVs (he crashed the black 2003 model (the first), leading him to buy a white 2004 model as a replacement (the second).
See also
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