He is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, acts as the boss of the fictional DiMeo crime family of North Jersey.
The character was conceived by Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase , who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the series. Gandolfini was cast in the role ahead of other actors, including Steven Van Zandt and Michael Rispoli.
The character is loosely based on stories from and about an assortment of real-life Mafia figures, including New Jersey mobsters Ruggerio "Richie the Boot" Boiardo , boss of the North Jersey faction of the Genovese crime family , and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo , a former caporegime and de facto boss of the DeCavalcante crime family.
William Ludwig portrayed him as a child and Gandolfini's son Michael portrayed him as a teenager in the prequel film The Many Saints of Newark. In the first season , Tony is a capo and serves as a key ally for ailing acting boss Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile in the DiMeo family.
Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to acting underboss and then official underboss, a position he retains until the sixth season; his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the acting boss up until early in the sixth season, but actual power is retained by Tony. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting needs of his family—wife Carmela , daughter Meadow , son A.
