Instead of a Therapy Session: 5 Tony Soprano Quotes on Modern Men’s Struggles
The character introduced the world to morally ambiguous figures.
In the summer of 1999, The Sopranos burst onto screens, forever changing the landscape of television drama. A quarter of a century later, it’s clear — Tony Soprano paved the way for all the complex, contradictory antiheroes of modern TV. Without him, there would be no Walter White, Don Draper, or Stringer Bell.
Before The Sopranos, male TV characters lived in a simplified reality — noble cops, exemplary fathers, free of internal conflict. Tony was the first truly lifelike character, whose moral struggles and family drama were just as gripping as the mafia showdowns. His monologues are a real treasure trove of wisdom, and many of his lines have long become quotes. We've gathered a few of them here.
— "How’s work?"
— "Great, if you don’t mind sleeping in your car, eating garbage, and seeing your kids once a week."
"A wrong decision is better than indecision."
"If you got a good wife, you’re a rich man."
"Those who want respect, give respect."
"I’m part of the generation that’s tying everything back to being depressed."
