It was the series that reshaped television – winning dozens of awards and making stars out of its cast along the way. The Sopranos premiered 22 years ago this January, before wrapping up 86 episodes and six seasons later in 2007. Now, Mail Online looks at what has happened to the cast since the curtain fell. Iconic: The Sopranos premiered 22 years ago this January before wrapping up 86 episodes and six seasons later in 2007. the entire cast pictured in 1999 James Gandolfini – Tony Soprano Playing a stress-prone mob boss who juggles the demands of his metaphorical family – the Mafia – with his literal family was the show’s star, James Gandolfini. Balancing the brutality expected of a mob boss with a repressed emotional side and the tenderness required of a family patriarch, Gandolfini’s performance earned him three Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe. James Gandolfini (right in 2013) played the lead of many Tony Sopranos Sadly, the actor died in 2013 at the age of 51 while on holiday with his family in Rome from a heart attack. He was found unconscious on his hotel floor by his son Michael, who alerted emergency services, but was pronounced dead in hospital. Michael, now 23, played a young Tony Soprano in the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark, which was released in 2021. Michael Gandolfini, now 22, plays a young Tony Soprano in the prequel The Many Saints of Newark (due 2019) due for release in 2021 Edie Falco – Carmela Soprano Tony’s trophy wife who decided to turn a blind eye to his many affairs and means of income and focus on the income itself. However, the life of luxury did not solve all of Carmela’s problems as she struggled to raise her two children against a background of immorality and violence. Carmela Soprano, Tony’s long-suffering wife, was played by Edie Falco, who has appeared frequently on television ever since (pictured left in character, right in 2020) Falco, who won three Emmys, two Golden Globes and five Screen Actors Guild Awards as Carmela, went on to star as the title character in Nurse Jackie. He also worked alongside Louis CK on the web series Horace and Pete and as attorney Leslie Abramson on Law & Order True Crime. In 2011 she also won a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway revival of The House of Blue Leaves. Eddie stayed in the HBO family as the star of Nurse Jackie from 2009 to 2015. She will play Hillary Clinton in the third season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series American Crime Story in September 2021, which follows the sex scandal and impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Jamie-Lynn Sigler – Meadow Soprano Growing up as the child of a notorious mobster comes with its challenges, especially for Queen Meadow – who struggles to reconcile the way her father makes his money with the benefits it brings her. Aged 17 when The Sopranos first aired, she created an acting career for herself alongside the TV series. Jamie-Lynn Sigler was 17 when she was cast as Meadow Soprano (left) and has since appeared in TV shows including HBO’s Entourage (pictured right in January 2020) She appeared in a Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast as Belle between 2002 and 2003 and played the title character in Cinderella at Madison Square Garden in 2001. Since the series ended she has made sporadic television appearances, including herself in two episodes of HBO’s Entourage. He has also appeared in episodes of How I Met Your Mother and Ugly Betty and appeared in the music video for The Lonely Island’s song Jizz In My Pants. Sigler dabbled in other fields—she released an album in 2001 that flopped and later said it embarrassed her—and modeled for FHM. Robert Iler – AJ Soprano The youngest child of Tony and Carmela, he begins the series as the innocent, if misbehaved, raging family member who fails to live up to his father’s many expectations. As the series continues, his innocence crumbles and he begins to display all of Tony’s negative traits, leading to a battle with depression. Robert Iler was just 13 when he was cast to play Tony’s son AJ (left) after working in commercials. He ran into trouble with the law during filming and has rarely worked on TV since then (pictured right in January 2019) Robert had appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial and bit-parts on SNL before being cast as AJ at just 13 years old. He appeared sporadically in other television roles while the show was on the air – including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – and just one since then, also on Law & Order. In 2001, Robert was arrested for the armed robbery of two Brazilian tourists on the Upper East Side and possession of marijuana and was given three years of probation. After suffering from substance abuse, he got sober in 2013. Lorraine Bracco – Jennifer Melfi Tony’s psychiatrist and outlet for his anxiety and deeply repressed emotions, Jennifer is both fascinated and repulsed by the mobster. Advised by her colleagues, loved ones and her own better nature to part ways with Tony, she vows to help him overcome his problems. A Goodfellas star, Bracco (right in 2019) only agreed to work on The Sopranos if she could play Tony’s morally conflicted psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (left). He has continued to appear in films and television since then (pictured right this year) and did some voice acting in Bojack Horseman Bracco was a former model, wife of Harvey Kittel, and starred in the mob hit Goodfellas opposite Robert De Niro before landing the role of The Sopranos. While creator David Chase wanted her to play Carmella, Bracco said he would only sign on if she was allowed to take on the role of Dr. Melfi. He appeared extensively in other shows and films during the Sopranos run, including Riding In Cars With Boys and Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Since the series ended, he has starred in the TV movie Long Island Confidential, I Married a Mobster and Blue Bloods, and as a voice actor in Bojack Horseman. Most recently, Bracco bought a 200-year-old house in Sambuca di Sicilia, Italy for just one euro which she went on to renovate for the HGTV series My Big Italian Adventure. Michael Imperioli – Christopher Moltisanti Tony’s cousin, mobster and elite protégé – Christopher is driven by a desire for success and fame that sees him at odds with Tony’s ‘strong, silent type’ image and butting heads with the older ‘ his colleagues’. His character is also a drug addict who often abuses his partner and eventually becomes tyrannical. Michael Imperioli was a Goodfellas veteran before being cast as Christopher Moltisanti (left) in The Sopranos and has continued his career as an actor and screenwriter since then (right in April 2019) He won a Primetime Emmy for his performance in 2004. A seasoned actor before the series began – starring alongside Bracco in Goodfellas, along with appearances in Jungle Fever, Bad Boys and Malcolm X – he has appeared extensively in film and television since then. Imperioli played Detective Ray Carling in the American adaptation of the British cop show Life On Mars and followed his Sopranos castmates on Law & Order, playing NYPD Detective Nick Falco. He played Detective Louis Fitch on the ABC Detroit crime drama 1-8-7 until it was canceled, and in 2008 he achieved the character Christopher’s dream of writing a feature film, The Hungry Ghosts. Michael has appeared in several series since The Sopranos, including Californication, Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods. Andrea Donna de Matteo – Adriana La Cerva Christopher’s girlfriend-turned-wife is vain, obsessed with money and material goods, and desperate for fame. Often a victim of violence at Christopher’s hand, she becomes a victim in the final series, but refuses to give up the family’s deepest secrets. Shallow, materialistic, silly and vain – Andrea Donna de Matteo (right in 2019) won a Primetime Emmy for her portrayal of Adriana la Cerva (left). She has since continued acting and played Joey Tribbiani’s sister in the spin-off series Friends Joey Matteo won a Primetime Emmy Award for the role in 2004, along with Imperioli. She used her fame on The Sopranos to launch a career on the silver screen, including appearances in Swordfish, Assault on Precinct 13, Dark Places and Sex, Death and Bowling. Matteo has also appeared in several TV shows since The Sopranos ended, including Joey Tribbiani’s sister Gina in the Friends spin-off Joey. She also starred in Sons of Anarchy, Desperate Housewives, CSI: Miami and Agents of SHIELD Dominic Chianese – Corrado ‘Junior’ Soprano Tony’s sad, resentful, power-hungry uncle who conspires with his mother early on to screw him over to take control of the family. Outwitted by Tony’s power play, he is ultimately left weak and confused as he suffers from dementia. A good friend of Al Pacino’s, Dominic Chianese (right in 2019) was a seasoned film actor when he landed the role of Corrado ‘Junior’ Soprano (left) in the series. She’s continued acting ever since, including on Boardwalk Empire, and is still getting work at age 90 Good friends with Al Pacino, Chianese was well known before The Sopranos started starring in The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, …And Justice For All, and Looking for Richard. He continued to find work into his 80s, including voice acting on Mr. Popper’s Penguins as well as television appearances on Boardwalk Empire and The Good Wife. He appeared this year in NBC’s new drama The Village, about a Brooklyn apartment building and the people who live in it. The star celebrated his 90th birthday in February 2021. Aida Turturro – Janice Soprano Tony’s older, newly built sister who ran away from her family’s problems rather than stay and deal with them, returns to New Jersey and plunges into mob life. Shy, manipulative and amoral, she has a love-hate relationship with Tony, born of their shared childhood trauma. Aida Turturro (right in 2017) …
