Then/Now: The Cast of 'The Sopranos'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}<b>The Cast of 'The Sopranos'</b> The critically-acclaimed and popular crime drama ran for six seasons on HBO before coming to an end in 2007. A record-breaking commercial hit, "The Sopranos" was the most financially successful show in the history of cable television. The show centered around Tony Soprano, his family and his mobster friends in New Jersey. And over the years fans got to see tons of faces come on to the show before they were ultimately 'taken care of.' Let's take a trip down memory lane and see what the cast has been up to. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>James Gandolfini:Then</b> The actor will forever be known for his alter ego, Tony Soprano. He was the ruthless leader of the Jersey-based DiMeo crime family. Over the years Tony struggled with balancing his Mafia world with life at home with his wife (Edie Falco) and two kids. (AP) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>James Gandolfini (1961-2013)</b> James tried to vary the roles he played after “The Sopranos” ended, but for the most part, many couldn't shake the image of him as a rough and tumble mob boss. Some of his notable films include "The Taking of Pelham 123," "Where the Wild Things Are" and "All the King's Men." On June 19, 2013 Gandolfini suffered a fatal heart attack while traveling through Italy. He was 51 years old. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Edie Falco: Then</b> Edie played the lonely and sometimes ruthless Carmela Soprano who spent years putting up with an unfaithful husband and two tough teenagers. Eventually, Carmela found herself unable to deal with Tony's actions and left him for a period of time. But of course nobody says no to Tony and they soon rekindled their marriage. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Edie Falco: Now</b> Edie hasn’t slowed down one bit since “The Sopranos.” She’s been playing the title role on Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” since June 2009 and has won several awards for the part. (Reuters) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Michael Imperioli: Then</b> Michael played Christopher Moltisanti, Tony's protege and a distant cousin, who was treated like his nephew. But his inner demons of drug addiction and brutality always got him into trouble. Luckily the mob boss had his back for some time, though ultimately Tony's suspicions of Christopher led to the young Capo's demise. A New York native, Imperioli appeared in a number of films before landing the role of Christopher, including "The Basketball Diaries," "Clockers" and "Goodfellas." (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Michael Imperioli: Now</b> The New York native has had a string of TV roles since “The Sopranos.” He has appeared on "The Office," "Girls" and "Californication." (Reuters) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Lorraine Bracco: Then</b> After her phenomenal portrayal of a mob wife in “Goodfellas” the producers urged Bracco to read for the role of Carmela. But Bracco opted for the part of Tony’s shrink, Dr. Jennifer Melfi instead. Over the years, she was perhaps the closest person to the mob boss since he confided in her almost everything. They shared quite a bit of sexual chemistry too. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a><br><br>
<b>Lorraine Bracco: Now</b> The actress took it easy at first when the show ended but has been starring on "Rizzoli and Isles" since 2010. She also narrated "I Married a Mobster" in 2011-2012. (Reuters) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Tony Sirico: Then</b> Before turning to acting in the 1980s, Sirico had his own fair share of problems with the law in the '60s and '70s and served time for robbing a club. So when he was approached to play Paulie Walnuts, he agreed so long as his character wasn't a rat. Paulie was many things - colorful, superstitious, enigmatic - but a rat he was not. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Tony Sirico: Now</b> The reformed bad boy has been on "Medium" and "Chuck" since putting away his gangster suit. You could almost call him a softy now. He has lent his voice to a "Spongebob Squarepants" and "Family Guy" as well. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Jamie Lynn Sigler: Then</b> We watched her grow up on screen as Meadow Soprano going from her early teens through college. At first, Meadow was the typical rebellious teen, despite her high academic performance. And while she was initially ashamed of her family's background, Meadow eventually came around to accepting them. A Queens native, Sigler began acting at the age of 7. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Jamie Lynn Sigler: Now</b> The young actress tried her hand at singing in 2001 with the pop album flop, "Here to Heaven." A year later she released the autobiography, “Wise Girl: What I’ve Learned about Life, Love and Loss.” She has made several guest appearances on shows like “How I Met Your Mother” and “Ugly Betty.” Sigler also regained some of her former fame with a guest starring spot as Turtle’s girlfriend on “Entourage.” In Aug. 2013 she gave birth to her first child with fiance, baseball player Cutter Dykstra. (AP) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Steve Buscemi: Then</b> Buscemi was a well-known actor before taking on his role in "The Sopranos." Beginning his career in the 1980s, he appeared in popular films like "Pulp Fiction," " Billy Madison," "Con Air" and "The Big Lebowski." He made a few cameos on the show - once as a doorman - before taking the role of Tony's cousin, Tony Blundetto. Tony is introduced when he's released from prison in the fifth season of the show. But instead of reforming his ways, he jumps right back in with the Mafia. Unfortunately for the character, times have changed since he was locked up and he ends up getting himself killed. (AP) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Steve Buscemi: Now</b> Since his critically-acclaimed "Sopranos" days, Buscemi's career has remained steady with roles in films like "I Think I Love My Wife" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," television appearances on "30 Rock" and "ER" and even voice work on "The Simpsons." He currently stars on another HBO hit, "Boardwalk Empire." This time around, he's the lead as criminal kingpin and racketeer, Nucky Johnson. (Reuters) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Drea de Matteo: Then</b> As the fiancée of Tony Soprano’s protégé Chris Moltisanti, Drea’s character Adriana could certainly hold her own. That is until the F.B.I coerced her into working under cover for them, which was ultimately her death sentence. (AP) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Drea de Matteo: Now</b> The actress went on to play Joey Tribbiani’s sister Gina on the short-lived “Friends” spin-off, “Joey.” She followed that up with recurring roles on “Sons of Anarchy” and “Desperate Housewives.” (AP) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Joe Pantoliano: Then</b> Pantoliano was also successful when he came to "The Sopranos" cast in 1999 in season three as Ralphie Cifaretto. Cunning and erratically violent, Cifaretto's character caused a great deal of stress for Tony Soprano, who passed him over for a promotion in the crime family. Eventually, a physical fight with Tony leads to his death, and his fiancee Rosalie, is led to believe that a rival family had him killed over a business deal. Before "The Sopranos," Pantoliano appeared in "NYPD Blue," "U.S. Marshalls" and "The Matrix." (AP) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Joe Pantoliano: Now</b> The New Jersey native, also known as Joey Pants, has starred on Broadway in "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune." His movie career has also continued with roles in "Bad Boys II," "Deadly Impact" and " Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief." More recently, he voiced a part for "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore." (Reuters) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Vincent Pastore: Then</b> A Bronx native, Pastore built his career out of playing a mobster, appearing in films like "Goodfellas" and "Carlito's Way" before his "Sopranos" role. He played Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero who worked for Tony's dad Johnny Boy till he died in 1986 and Tony took over. He was a loyal friend to Tony until he starting dealing heroine to make some side money. He was caught and given the choice of a prison sentence or becoming an informant. "Big Pussy" chose the latter. Not a smart move. In an intense episode, "Big Pussy" was shot by Tony, Paulie and Silvio, a murder which haunted all three for the duration of the show. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Vincent Pastore: Now</b> Vince has been all over the reality TV circuit in the last few years. In 2006, he famously lost 29-pounds on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club." He followed that up with a short-lived stint on "Dancing with the Stars." In 2008 he joined "Celebrity Apprentice" and he took his family with him to appear on "Celebrity Family Feud. They lost to Kathy Lee Gifford's fam. (Reuters) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Robert Iler: Then</b> Iler played Tony's son, A.J., who would often get into trouble for getting drunk and high. Over the years, he also struggled with depression and tried to commit suicide. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Robert Iler: Now</b> Life has somewhat imitated art for this young actor who has been arrested for armed robbery and drug possession. He was also caught at an under ground poker club in New York that was raided by police in 2005. As far as acting goes, he has appeared on "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: SVU." (Reuters) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Aida Turturro: Then</b> Despite roles in films like "What About Bob" and "Sleepers," Turturro is best-known for playing Tony's older sister, Janice. Janice, a former hippie, comes back to New Jersey once Tony is in charge and quickly falls right back into her former self. She married her high school boyfriend, Richie Aprile (David Proval) who is part of Tony's crew. But being related to the mob boss tends to do more harm than good. (AP) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Aida Turturro: Now</b> These days the actress isn't in the spotlight much. She is often seen trying to raise awareness for Rheumatoid arthritis. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Steven Van Zandt: Then</b> David Chase, the creator of the show, saw Steven Van Zandt perform with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and asked the rocker to join the show. “Little Steven” had no acting experience, but agreed to play Silvio Dante. His real-life wife, Maureen, played his wife Gabriella on the show. (AP) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Steven Van Zandt: Now</b> The rocker-turned-actor still rocks out with the E Street Band. He is also the program director for two Sirius radio channels and has hosted a few rock shows over the years. (Reuters) <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/@fox411">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>
<b>Vincent Curatola</b> A New Jersey native, Curatola appeared on television in "Law & Order" and "Dearly Beloved" before landing the role of Johnny Sack, the boss of the Brooklyn-based Lupertazzi crime family. Despite his cool demeanor and commitment to keeping peace between the families, Sack eventually became a much darker character, who would kill any rival challenging his power. Unlike most of the other crime bosses, Johnny was faithful to his wife, Ginny (Denise Borino-Quinn). In fact, Sack famously became incredibly angry in season 3 when Ralph Cifaretto made a comment about Ginny's obesity. Borino-Quinn recently passed away after a long struggle with liver cancer. She was 46. (Reuters) <a href="http://twitter.com/@fox411" target="_blank">Follow FOX411.com on Twitter.</a>