Anthony "Tony" Soprano is the fictional mafia boss of the DiMeo family in the HBO TV series, The Sopranos, played by James Gandolfini.

Throughout the series, Tony Soprano has to juggle the ongoing needs of both his personal family and his professional family. He has a strained relationship with his wife, Carmela (from whom, by the end of the fourth season, he is estranged) and has a very distant relationship with his two children, Meadow and Anthony, Jr.

Coupled with this, Tony has to juggle northern New Jersey's most powerful criminal organization, keeping it functioning properly and keeping dissonance to a minimum. Tony is technically only the acting boss of the DiMeo family, keeping it operating while his uncle Junior Soprano is under investigation by the FBI. The relationship between Tony and Junior 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, becoming more and more marginalized in the organization as the FBI's investigation into his activies increased, conspired with Tony's own mother, Livia Soprano, to have him killed (although the hit failed).

Tony also suffers from panic attacks, a condition that both his father and now son also suffer from. To deal with it, he takes medication and sees a psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi. 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 (as Dr. Melfi tries hard to suppress her feelings for him). 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.

It should be noted that Tony's panic attacks are somewhat different from real-life panic attacks, which do not include the loss of consciousness that Tony experiences. This difference is probably there for dramatic effect.

See also

• List of characters from The Sopranos

External link

• HBO Character Profile: Tony Soprano (http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/cast/character/tony_soprano.shtml)