Tony Soprano
The show debuted in 1999 and was broadcast until 2007 with Gandolfini playing Tony Soprano throughout all six seasons. His portrayal of Tony Soprano was met with widespread fan and critical acclaim. "Deadline Hollywood" said Tony Soprano helped "usher in the era of the antihero" for television. As methods to focus anger into his performances, Gandolfini had said he would deliberately hit himself on the head, stay up all night to evoke the desired reaction, drink several cups of coffee, or walk around with a rock in his shoe. For his depiction of Soprano, Gandolfini won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. He also won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series along with the rest of the cast. In 2017, "Entertainment Weekly" listed him as the 42nd Greatest TV Icon of All Time. Gandolfini was making $1million per episode during the show's final season, making him one of television's highest paid actors. Gandolfini underwent knee surgery on June 2, 2006, which pushed the production of the second part of the final season back by several months. Following Gandolfini's death in 2013, David Chase in a "Fresh Air" interview said that, "without Jim Gandolfini, there is no "Sopranos". There is no Tony Soprano."