Anthony John Soprano Sr., better known and referred to as Tony Soprano, is the central fictional antihero of the television drama series The Sopranos and portrayed by actor James Gandolfini. He is an Italian-American De facto boss of the DiMeo crime family in Northern New Jersey. His character loosely stems from real-life mobster Vincent Palermo. Tony holds the position of a capo until ultimately promoted to street boss, where he frequently finds himself struggling to balance the needs of both his actual family and mafia family. He suffers from depression and often breaks out in sociopathic displays of violence. Tony Soprano is noted as one of the greatest characters in television history.