Anthony Soprano, Jr.

Infobox character | name = A.J. Soprano


real_name = Anthony Soprano, Jr.
portrayer = Robert Iler
creator = David Chase
species =
gender = Male
first = "Pilot" "(episode 1.01)"
last = "Made in America" "(episode 6.21)"
last_cause =
age = 21 (at end of series)
occupation = Unemployed
title =
alias = A.J.
"Baby Bing" (FBI code name)
Prince Albert
family = Tony Soprano (father)
Carmela Soprano (mother)
Meadow Soprano (sister)
Johnny Boy Soprano (paternal grandfather)
Livia Soprano (paternal grandmother)
Hugh De Angelis (maternal grandfather)
Mary De Angelis (maternal grandmother)
Janice Soprano (aunt)
Bobby Baccalieri (uncle)
Barbara Soprano Giglione (aunt)
Christopher Moltisanti (cousin)
Bobby Baccalieri III (cousin)
Sophia Baccalieri (cousin)
Domenica Baccalieri (cousin)
spouse = Rhiannon Flammer (girlfriend) Blanca Selgado (ex-girlfriend) Devin Pillsbury (ex-girlfriend)
children =
relatives =
footnotes =

Anthony John Soprano, Jr. (born July 15, 1986), played by Robert Iler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series "The Sopranos". Usually just called "A.J.", he is the son of Carmela and Tony Soprano.

Biography

A.J. is a constant source of anxiety for his parents. A constant and relentless underachiever, and diagnosed as borderline ADD, he crashed his mother Carmela's car, smoked marijuana at his own confirmation, got drunk on stolen communion wine, vandalized his school swimming pool, and was finally expelled after cheating on a test. As a result, he was almost sent to military school, until it was discovered that he suffers from the same panic attacks that plagued his father and grandfather. Instead, he was sent to another private school.

Tony and Carmela's concern has turned to A.J.'s future; Tony has no desire to groom his son into a position within his organization. In the fifth season of the show, A.J. displayed an unexpected interest in pursuing a career in event planning, but he has since derided his parents' mentions of it.

In seasons 2–5, A.J. was portrayed as a fan of heavy metal, with product placements (shirts, coats, and posters) of bands like Pantera, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Coal Chamber, Trivium and Machine Head. In "Full Leather Jacket", A.J. says that he wants to go to Harvard University or West Point for college. Tony dismisses the idea as unrealistic given A.J's academic performance.

In Season 6, A.J. admits to his parents that he has flunked out of college, a worrying parallel to Tony's own youth. A.J. acquired a large knife and went to the institution Uncle Junior was being held at in a futile effort to exact revenge for his father. He was arrested, but later released without charge thanks to his father's political connections. At this time he has been seen delving into the New York City club scene and experimenting with cocaine.

After several days of claiming to be searching for jobs on the Internet with no result, Tony intervened and arranged a construction job for his son, but A.J. was reluctant to accept because of the early hours and outdoor work. Tony became angry and smashed the windshield of A.J.'s SUV, and warned A.J. not to put him to the test. A.J. reluctantly went to work at the construction site and there he met Blanca Selgado, whom he began dating. Blanca, who was Dominican, and had a 3-year-old son named Hector, met with Carmela's disapproval. Tony however was more approving of the relationship satisfied that Blanca was Catholic like the Sopranos at least.

In 2007, A.J. proposes to Blanca at a fancy restaurant dinner by telling her that he will own a couple of restaurants in a couple years. However, Blanca soon gives the ring back and breaks up with him, leaving A.J. severely depressed. He quits his job and mopes about until his father forces him to attend a frat party with the college-age relatives of his fellow mafiosi. A.J. grudgingly attends but soon starts to enjoy himself. Several of the boys run a sports betting operation at the college and after a night of drinking, they beat and torture a man who neglected to pay them by pouring acid on his foot. A.J. joins in to help forget his women problems. Later he joins his new friends again when one of them carelessly opens the door of his car, hitting a passerby on a bicycle. They make racial slurs towards the man, and blame the accident on him. His friends attack the man. However, A.J. is not helping them. Following that, A.J. is seen at his psychiatrist telling him that he is once again depressed about the world due to that incident.

This depression would lead to a botched suicide attempt, wherein he tied a brick to his leg with a too-long length of rope and attempted to drown himself in the pool at the Soprano home. His father heard his cries for help and dove into the pool and rescued him. He was then placed in a facility to get psychiatric care, where he meets Rhiannon, an ex-girlfriend of his former friend Hernan. After he starts to despair aloud when Tony tells him that his uncle Bobby has been shot dead, Tony drags him out of his bed and tells him to pack as the family leaves home quickly to elude a possible attack by the Lupertazzi crime family.

In the final episode, A.J. is in his Nissan Xterra with Rhiannon, his new girlfriend, and starts making out with her, but they both rush out of the vehicle when it catches fire due to A.J. parking it over a pile of leaves. He later decides he wants to join the U.S. Army, but is talked out of it by his parents and girlfriend. Instead, Tony gets him a job working for Little Carmine's production company. This sense of direction seems to alleviate A.J.'s depression, at least temporarily, and he is last seen having dinner with his family.

External links

* [http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/cast/character/anthony_soprano.shtml HBO Profile: Anthony Soprano, Jr.]