We have been doing this blog for nearly 3 years, and The Sopranos is my all-time favorite TV Drama. How did it take me this long to do a tribute to Stevie Van Zandt's role as Silvio Dante on HBO's The Sopranos?!?
According to Van Zandt, Sopranos creator David Chase decided to cast him in the show after seeing Stevie induct The Rascals into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997, despite him having no acting experience at all.
It should go without saying that the clips I will show in this post are not even remotely safe for work. And there will also be spoilers. But the show has been off the air for seven years, so if you haven't seen it by now, what are you waiting for?
Silvio starts off as just a regular mafia soldier with very little to make him standout from the others. He keeps a low profile, runs a legitimate(ish) business in the infamous "Bada Bing" strip club, and is fiercely loyal to his family and his boss.
However, slowly throughout the show, he starts showing more and more personality, such as when he's annoyed with the officiating at his daughter's soccer game.
But perhaps what he would be most noted for was his Michael Corleone from The Godfather impressions, as seen below and would become one of his character's trademark.
His loyalty to his crime family was abundantly clear when he whacked several FBI informants seen here, here, and especially here. That's in addition to all the other murders he committed on the show. He may have been a soft-spoken guy, but he was an absolute bad-ass, cold-blooded, brutal mobster.
But, my all time favorite scene is when he's playing poker. As an avid gambler, I absolutely know the frustration he felt of losing money and taking that frustration out on the nearest person.
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