Tony Soprano character altered face of TV, paving way for
antiheroes  June 19, 2013 at 10:07 PM ET  When "The Sopranos"
hit the small screen in 1999, there wasn't a leading character
on television to compare to troubled patriarch Tony Soprano.
Sure, the big screen had long since made room for complex
antiheroes. Heck, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood
crafted careers by bringing those types to life. But TV is
different.  Showtime / AMC   Because of an actor like James
Gandolfini.  It would have been easy to play Tony bigger than
life -- he was a bigger than life character. He was equal parts
tough guy, wise guy, ruthless killer and devoted father, flawed
husband and struggling soul. That's what made him a tough sell.
But Gandolfini somehow balanced the exaggeration that was
inherent to the world of a crime boss with the mundane, everyman
existence behind it. Sure, he cracked open a few heads, but he
also fed the ducks that called his pool home. He was quick on
the trigger, but he was also a hit around