The Sopranos large cast of characters, many of whom get significant amounts of character development—regardless of level of importance. Some only appear in certain seasons, while others appear (sporadically or constantly) throughout the entire series. All characters were created by David Chase, unless otherwise noted. Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is the series' protagonist. Tony is one of the capos (and the unofficial underboss) of the New Jersey-based DiMeo crime family, at the beginning of the series; he eventually becomes its undisputed boss. He is also the patriarch of the Soprano household. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting requirements of
Tony Soprano each; Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes. In the first season, Tony is a "capo" in the DiMeo crime family. Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to street boss, a position he retains until the sixth season; his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the official boss up until early in the sixth season, but has little or no actual power. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting needs of his actual family wife Carmela, daughter Meadow, son A. J., and mother Liviawith those of the Mafia family he controls. He