Vincent Pastore Kleinfeld insults. He is listed in the credits as "Vinny Pastore" playing "Copa Wiseguy." Pastore got a bigger role in the comedy/crime film "" (1995) as Tony Scarboni, one of the three gangsters and Lazarro's (played by Alan Arkin) clients. In the 1996 HBO television movie "Gotti", Pastore played the character of Angelo Ruggiero, alongside future "Sopranos" cast members Tony Sirico and Dominic Chianese. In 1999, Pastore got his biggest role to date in "The Sopranos", where he played the character Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero. His character was murdered in the finale of season 2, but Pastore would make a
The Sopranos had a bigger impact on how stories are told on the small screen, or more influence on what kind of fare we’ve been offered by an ever-growing array of television networks." Hal Boedeker stated in PopMatters in 2007 that the series was "widely influential for revealing that cable would accommodate complex series about dark characters. "The Sopranos" ushered in "Six Feet Under", "The Shield", "Rescue Me", and "Big Love"." The series helped establish HBO as producers of critically acclaimed and commercially successful original television series. Michael Flaherty of "The Hollywood Reporter" has stated that "The Sopranos" "helped launch [HBO's] reputation