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 'Bacala' Baccalieriwas 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. Show less «