There may be no more iconic or beloved character in television history than The Sopranos' legendary Tony Soprano. James Gandolfini's performance as the New Jersey mob boss helped redefine what a television protagonist could be, turning a violent, deeply flawed criminal into one of the most complicated and compelling characters of all time.
The Sopranos became a cultural phenomenon in large part because of Gandolfini's role, and throughout the show's six-season run, his layered performance earned widespread acclaim and influenced an entire generation of prestige television antiheroes that followed. More importantly, Gandolfini became almost completely inseparable from the role. His voice, mannerisms, humor, volatility, and vulnerability are so fundamental to Tony Soprano that imagining anyone else at the center of The Sopranos feels nearly impossible.
That makes one unusual chapter in the franchise's history all the more bizarre. In 2006, while the original series was still airing, The Sopranos officially attempted to move Tony aside and introduce an entirely different main character, and it went about as well as you'd expect.
The Sopranos Officially Replaced Tony In Road To Respect...