Big Pussy Bonpensiero Big Pussy Bonpensiero Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, played by Vincent Pastore, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series "The Sopranos". Not to be confused with fellow fictional New Jersey mobster known as "Little Pussy" Malanga, Big Pussy was a close friend and mob enforcer for Tony Soprano. The son of Lino Bonpensiero, Salvatore Bonpensiero started out as a cat burglar, and was affectionately known as Pussy, in reference to a pussycat. He was called "Big Pussy" to distinguish from Gennaro "Little Pussy" Malanga. Sal looked after his wife Angie and their three children, and was a long-time friend
The Sopranos producers) and his second for writing the 1980 television film "Off the Minnesota Strip". By 1996, he was a coveted showrunner. The story of "The Sopranos" was initially conceived as a feature film about "a mobster in therapy having problems with his mother." Chase got some input from his manager Lloyd Braun and decided to adapt it into a television series. He signed a development deal in 1995 with production company Brillstein-Grey and wrote the original pilot script. He drew heavily from his personal life and his experiences growing up in New Jersey, and has stated that he tried to