With the series celebrating its 25th anniversary, here is a look at what happened to the rest of the star-studded cast of the game-changing mobster series
The Sopranos is set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its pilot episode on HBO. Often heralded as the best series of all time, the late, great James Gandolfini stared as mob king Tony Soprano, who struggled to balance family life while running a dangerous criminal organisation.
The American crime drama first burst onto our screens in January 1999 and due to its incredible popularity ran on HBO for a whopping 86 episodes until 2007. The Sopranos featured some brutal deaths – 88 deaths in fact – alongside many twists, turf wars and some great performances.
Series creator David Chase helped launch the careers of several cast members including Gandolfini, Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco and helped pave the way for violent crime shows including The Wire, Breaking Bad or Mad Men.
25 years after its debut, the series is still aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK with the entire series on Now TV. Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos, is a two-part documentary on the iconic mob drama The Sopranos and the visionary behind the series and will premiere on September 7.
Many of the cast are still acting or changed their career paths – including one actress setting up an OnlyFans account, a professional poker player and one even set up their own vegan pasta company.
Here is a look at what happened to The Sopranos cast after the hit series finished.
James Gandolfini – Tony Soprano
The main protagonist of the whole series, Tony is loosely based on real-life New Jersey mobster Vinny Ocean. The unofficial boss of the family, Tony had to balance conflict within his family life with running an organised crime operation.
Ruthless Tony was a violent sociopath but was prone to having panic attacks so he would see a psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi, played by Jennifer Melfi. Despite his clear vulnerabilities, the anti-hero become more ruthless and violent towards the end of the HBO series.
It is unclear what happened to Tony at the end of the series and whether he died. But showrunner David Chase admitted that Tony died and he didn’t want to show it.
He said: “What was annoying was how many people wanted to see Tony killed. That bothered me. They wanted to know that Tony was killed. They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know?
“And I just thought, ‘God, you watched this guy for seven years and I know he’s a criminal’. But don’t tell me you don’t love him in some way, don’t tell me you’re not on his side in some way. And now you want to see him killed?
Actor James Gandolfini was best known for the role which won him three Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe.
After the series ended he went on to become a producer and acted in films All the King’s Men, In the Loop, Where the Wild Things Are and Zero Dark Thirty. The great actor sadly died from a heart attack while with his family in Rome at the age of 51 in 2013.
His son Michael played a younger version of his dad’s character in the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark.
Edie Falco – Carmela Soprano
Carmela was Tony’s trophy wife who was well aware their fortune was built on blood money but decided to turn a blind eye. She also struggled with Tony’s infidelity and violence alongside raising their children Meadow and AJ.
Actress Edie Falco won three Emmy awards, two Golden Globes and five Screen Actors Guild Awards for her portrayal of Carmela.
She also starred in Law & Order, Oz and Sunshine State, while playing the main role in Nurse Jackie from 2009 to 2015. She also appeared in Avatar: The Way of Water, Impeachment: American Crime Story and Tommy.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler – Meadow Soprano
Tony’s spoilt and troubled daughter Meadow was aware and resentful of her father’s criminal enterprise and her family’s complicity in it
She started to learn the consequences of their way of life as the seasons went on and at the end was planning her wedding to Patrick Parisi, the son of one of her dad’s capos.
Sigler and AJ actor Robert Iler briefly reunited on screen in 2022, reprising their Sopranos roles for a 60-second Super Bowl commercial overseen by creator David Chase.
She appeared in a Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast as Belle between 2002 and 2003 and Cinderella at Madison Square Garden in 2001.
She has guest-starred in episodes of Entourage, How I Met Your Mother and Ugly Betty and appeared in a music video for The Lonely Island.
The actress attempted her own music career but her album Here to Heaven flopped and she later admitted it was “embarrassing”.
Sigler was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 20 years old and began a podcast with fellow actress Christina Applegate called MeSsy about their friendship based on both being diagnosed with MS.
Robert Iler – AJ Soprano
The youngest child of Tony and Carmela, AJ was a chronic underachiever with self-esteem issues.
At the start, he always struggled with failing to live up to his father’s many expectations but the illusion was eventually shattered and he had a battle with depression.
Actor Robert Iler went on to appear in Law & Order, and Saturday Night Live and was in Pizza Hut commercials.
In 2001 he was arrested for the robbery of two teenagers and possession of marijuana. He pleaded guilty to a single charge of larceny and was given three years’ probation.
Since The Sopranos ended he has struggled with addiction but has been sober since 2013. Robert has also largely quit acting, but has appeared on various podcasts including with Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
Christopher Moltisanti – Michael Imperioli
Christopher was Tony’s distantly related cousin and protege who rose up the ranks during the series. Tony was a father figure to Christopher, who was volatile, and impulsive and would often be left frustrated by his lack of notoriety.
Christopher struggled with major drug and alcohol addictions and his violent relationship with long-term girlfriend Adriana La Cerva, who he was supposed to marry. The relationship tragically ended when she confessed to being a mole to Tony which led to one of the series’ most shocking deaths.
Christopher, who was struggling with drug addiction, was supposed to be Tony’s successor but he crashed while driving the mob boss home. Shocked at the state of his cousin and how his stepchildren could have been killed, Tony cancelled calling 911 and suffocated him.
Michael Imperioli returned to The Sopranos world in the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark as the narrator. He also co-hosted a podcast with Steve Schirripa titled Talking Sopranos where the pair provided behind-the-scenes information episode by episode of the hit series.
Actor Michael Imperoli, who had already appeared in the gangster film Goodfellas, earned a Primetime Emmy for his portrayal in 2004.
He went on to play Detective Ray Carling in the US adaptation of BBC police drama Life On Mars and followed fellow Sopranos cast members into the Law & Order series. Imperioli was cast in a lead role in the second season of The White Lotus and received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Tony Sirico – Paulie Gualtieri
Paulie ‘Walnuts’ was one of Tony’s right-hand men and carried out hits on his boss’ enemies and disloyal friends. The chief henchman rose up the ranks to become the underboss of the crime family and he was fiercely loyal to Tony.
Paulie was known for his quips and jokes to his friends which almost landed him in fatal trouble when he joked about the weight of Johnny Sack’s wife Ginny Sacrimoni.
Actor Tony Sirico originally auditioned to be Uncle Junior but agreed to play Paulie as long as his character did not become a rat.
With a criminal background of robbery, assaults and extortion, acting is what brought Tony back on the straight and narrow. He has played gangsters in a number of films including Goodfellas, Mob Queen and Mickey Blue Eyes.
The actor was also the voice of Vinny Griffin in Family Guy – the new pet dog who replaced Brian for one episode. Tony Sirico died on July 8, 2022, at an assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the age of 79.
His cause of death was unknown, but he had been diagnosed with dementia many years prior to his passing.
Steven Van Zandt – Silvio Dante
Silvio Dante was the owner of Bada Bing! strip club which became the gang’s headquarters and hideout spot. A consigliere and second in command, Silvio was often selected to carry out high-level assassinations for Tony including on Christopher’s girlfriend Adriana.
Actor Steven Van Zandt was famous before The Sopranos as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band where he plays guitar and mandolin.
In 2014 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with Springsteen and also founded his own band – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul.
After The Sopranos the music producer and songwriter starred and co-wrote Netflix series Lilyhammer and appeared in The Christmas Chronicles in 2018. In April 2024, Steven had his own street in Middletown, New Jersey named after him – Van Zandt Way.
Steven R. Schirripa – Bobby ‘Bacala’ Baccalieri
Amidst the adultery, murders and criminal schemes, Bobby was far different from other mafia members. He was loyal to his wife and kind-hearted and of course, loved model trains.
Bobby ended up caring for his former boss when he suffered from cancer and rose up the ranks of the organisation. He even became Tony’s brother-in-law when he married his sister Janice.
He also co-hosted a podcast with Michael Imperioli titled Talking Sopranos where the pair provided behind-the-scenes information episode by episode of the hit series.