The series "The Sopranos": actors. "The Sopranos" - American crime drama series

In the crime series "The Sopranos" are not collected the most popular actors. "The Sopranos clan" is at the same time one of the most successful television projects in the history of television. What is the attraction of the plot of this film, and whom did the producers take on the main roles?

History of creation

The idea of the series "The Sopranos" came to the head of David Chase - screenwriter, producer and filmmaker. He was born in New Jersey in the Italian-American family, often witnessed a criminal showdown. Therefore, when Chase was creating his most famous project, he was more guided by personal experience.

Many heroes of the "Clan Soprano" have prototypes in real life. In this case, Chase does not hide that in terms of character identifies himself with Tony, and Livia Soprano is completely written off from David's mother.

The first pilot release of David Chase took to shoot himself. Only suitable actors were needed. The "Sopranos" is a unique project in the sense that almost all its members really have Italian roots. Moreover, many of them had problems with the law and knew perfectly well what they were playing before the camera.

The film was broadcast on HBO. The popularity of the series was high, so it was possible to release six seasons. Further, the creators of the project did not go so as not to spoil the overall impression of the picture.

The actors involved. "The Soprano Clan": D. Gandolfini as Tony

The protagonist of the series is a certain Tony Soprano. He is a man of about forty, who is married and has two children. Like many ordinary men, he has mistresses, there are problems with his mother, sometimes Anthony rolls over depression, and he goes to a psychologist. However, at the rest of the time, Tony is the leader of a mafia clan that runs all things in New Jersey.

The role of Don Soprano was played by James Gandolfini. Previously, the actor participated in Broadway productions, then he started something in Hollywood. In 2006, the actor received a major role in the thriller "Lonely Hearts", where John Travolta and Jared Leto also appeared. In the same year, James Gandolfini came along with Sean Penn, Jude Law and Kate Winslet in the project "The whole royal army."

However, the star of the artist made it the series "The Sopranos", in which he finished filming shortly before his death. In 2013, the actor died of myocardial infarction.

E. Falko in the role of Carmela

Edie Falko in the serial movie about the Mafia clan was the role of the wife of the famous criminal boss. Carmela knew Tony since school days. She agreed to marry him, but she never interfered in the affairs of the mafia. Basically, Carmela participated in the plot intricacies, which dealt directly with the family relationships.

At a certain stage, the heroine Edie Falco was tired of the adultery of her husband and even tried to divorce him. But Tony did not give her a divorce.

As for Eddie herself, she was born in the family of an actress and musician. Therefore, it is natural that after school the girl decided to elect an acting profession. Фалко has ended corresponding courses and has started to be removed in television serials among which "Law and the order", and also "Prison Oz" are registered. Of the full-length paintings can be noted the work of Falco in the film "The Law of inevitability."

Robert Eiler in the role of Hey Jay

Robert was born in 1985 in New York. From childhood, he acted in various commercials, then began to try his hand at the cinema.

Robert Eiler was in the "Sopranos" at the age of fourteen. He was assigned the role of the youngest son of Tony Soprano. Anthony, Jr., according to the story, did not have a calm temper. As he grew up, the character was given more and more screen time.

Apparently, the actor's unformed mind was too influenced by the atmosphere of the film set and the role of the young gangster, since already at the age of sixteen the young man began to have serious problems with the law.

After the shooting of the series, Eiler was no longer involved in any television project.

D. L. Siegler in the role of Meadow

Jamie-Lynn Siegler is a native of New York. Her family is international: the father has Greek roots, and the mother - the Cuban.

The actress played in the cult series the eldest daughter of Tony - Meadow Mariagel. Her heroine is intelligent, but at the same time delivers a lot of parents problems.

Sigler also won a major role in the drama "The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleisse", and in 2012 appeared in three films at once: the melodrama "On Compatibility", the drama "I Agree" and the comedy "Guys with Children".

Despite the violent creative activity and active personal life, the girl has certain health problems. In 2000, she encountered Lyme's disease and for a few days lost control of her lower limbs. In 2016, the actress admitted that from the age of 20 she had to fight with multiple sclerosis.

However, all these difficulties do not prevent Mrs. Sigler from being happily married to baseball player Cutter Dixroy and raising her son Bo.

Nancy Merchand as Libya Soprano

In the project of David Chase, not so well- known actors were involved . "The Sopranos clan" is nevertheless not the simplest series, and the role in it is not so easy to play. A rather ambiguous character caught actress Nancy Merchand, who played the mother of Tony Soprano.

The heroine Merchand (Libya) belongs to the category of people who are constantly dissatisfied with something. Moreover, the woman is powerful and demanding. Confronting her is so difficult that Tony is forced to go to a psychologist and visit him for quite a long time, hiding this fact from family and friends.

The performer of the role of Libya in life also had a strong character. Nancy lived 71 years, 50 of which devoted to the acting profession. The actress did not roar around the world like Audrey Hepburn or any other diva, but Merchand knew quite well in the US: in particular, on the series "North and South", "Lou Grant", "Another World", "Law and order ".

The actress died suddenly, so the writers did not manage to correctly write her departure from the plot line of the series. She just disappeared in the second season from the screens on the pretext that her heroine also died.

Other artists

Actress Lorraine Bracco won the honorary role of personal psychotherapist Tony Soprano. Dr. Jennifer Melfi knew exactly who she was "fixing her brains," so she warned her in advance that he would not let her know about the crimes being prepared or committed, otherwise she would have to pass this information on to the appropriate authorities. Lorraine Bracco was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in Martin Scorsese's "Nice Guys". She also played Margo in the movie "Hackers" with Angelina Jolie.

For the role of Don Soprano's beloved nephew, David Chase approved Michael Imperioli, who really has Italian-American roots. Chrissy considered Tony Soprano almost a father and settled "delicate" questions for him. The performer of the role, Michael Imperioli, can also be seen in Scorsese's "Nice Guys" and in the thriller "Oldboy".

Dominique Kyanese performed on the screen in the image of Uncle Tony Soprano. His character wore the appropriate nickname "Junior", because he was the younger brother of Father Anthony. Kyanese also starred in the comedy "Italian lovers" with Angelina Jolie and in "Malawite" with Robert de Niro.

Scandals associated with actors

The series "The Sopranos" was in itself a rather scandalous phenomenon, as it contained a lot of violence, abuse and erotic scenes. Nevertheless, the producers of HBO did not hesitate to broadcast the film at 21:00 on Sundays.

Actors who took part in this project, too accustomed for seven years to his alleged involvement in the mafia. Closer to the end of the series, many of them really put.

For example, Eiler, who played the son of Tony Soprano, two years later filming with his friends attacked the Brazilian tourists and robbed them. Since the young man confessed, he got off on probation and, having missed two seasons, returned to the project.

Some Richard Maldon, who played in the series of one of the leaders of the mafia bands, was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison between the fourth and fifth season. However, he was soon acquitted.

One of Tony Soprano's associates was played by actor Vincent Pastore. Between the fifth and sixth season he beat his girlfriend in his own car and threw it on the roadside. I had to pass a course of public works.

And this is not a complete list of scandals involving actors from the "Sopranos" clan.

Reviews and ratings

The series "The Sopranos" is considered a megapopular and successful show. The film was equally interesting to viewers both on the day of the pilot show and during the completion of the project. Moreover, the audience of the project has steadily grown: in the first season the average number of spectators was 3.46 million, and in the sixth season - already 8 million.

Critics also reacted to the work of David Chase favorably. If the loyalty to the first season was shown by 88% of reviewers on the Metacritic site, then 97% of the users positively responded to the second season. All subsequent seasons, loyalty remained at the same high level.

The success of the "Sopranos" can be explained by the original concept of Chase, talented performance and good marketing of the HBO channel. But you can explain this phenomenon by the fact that people have always been attracted by vicious topics. Gangsters films reveal the veil in front of ordinary viewers to a world they will never have a relationship with. And, of course, it helps a lot to get distracted from the gray routine, especially if the gangster show is shown on Sunday night.