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.
William Ludwig portrayed him as a child and Gandolfini's son Michael portrayed him as a teenager in the 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. 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. 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 film True Romance , ultimately receiving the role ahead of several other actors due to his physically large stature and acting abilities.
