Sonny Corinthos Connie Corleone, which is alluded to in Kate Howard's real name, Connie Falconeri. Similarities have also been noted between Sonny and Tony Soprano from "The Sopranos" and the characters that surround them both. Vincent Pastore, who portrayed Big Pussy Bonpensiero on "The Sopranos", came on the show to portray Maximus Giambetti, father of Sonny's bodyguards Milo Giambetti and Max Giambetti. Benard has described Sonny as "unpredictable," and stated that: "You never know from one second to the next what he is thinking, feeling or planning. He's a man in personal conflict who maintains an outward appearance of calm at all
The Sopranos on the shape of the American television industry. It has been characterized by critics as one of the most influential artistic works of the 2000s and has been cited as helping to turn serial television into a legitimate art form on the same level as feature films, literature, and theater. "Time Magazine" editor James Poniewozik wrote in 2007, "This mafia saga showed just how complex and involving TV storytelling could be, inspiring an explosion of ambitious dramas on cable and off." Maureen Ryan of PopMatters described "The Sopranos" as the most influential television drama ever. "No one-hour drama series has