Crime Lord · TV

Tony Soprano

The character who made prestige television possible

Threat index 82 The Sopranos 1999 #3 Best on TV

Attribute scores

Power60

Intellect82

Menace84

Fear factor74

Cultural impact98

Charisma92

Editorial estimates on a 0–100 scale, calibrated against every other character in the index. Not official canon.

Who they are

A New Jersey mob boss goes to therapy for panic attacks, and in doing so opens the door for every morally compromised lead character that followed. Tony is funny, self-pitying, genuinely loving toward his children and capable of strangling an informant on the way to a college tour. The show never lets you forget the second thing while you are enjoying the first.

Defining traits

Organized crime authorityEmotional volatilityReal self-awareness that changes nothingCharm as a management toolPanic disorder

What makes them dangerous

He is the most dangerous man in the room and the one most likely to make you laugh first.

And what undoes them

He is genuinely, incurably unhappy, and it corrodes every decision he makes.

Things you might not know

The therapy premise came from the creator's own experience and was originally intended as a feature film.
The character is widely credited with launching the antihero era of American television drama.
Gandolfini would occasionally injure himself deliberately before difficult scenes to reach the required state.