Anthony Soprano, Jr.

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Anthony Soprano, Jr.
First appearance	The Sopranos (episode 1.01)
Statistics
Aliases	A.J.
Gender	Male
Age	20
Occupation	Construction worker
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) Barbara Soprano Giglione (aunt) Christopher Moltisanti (cousin)
Portrayed by	Robert Iler
Created by	David Chase

Anthony John Soprano, Jr., played by Robert Iler, is a fictional character in the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.

Usually just called "A.J.", he is the son of mob boss Tony Soprano.

Despite being the son and namesake of Tony Soprano, A.J. is a constant source of anxiety for his parents. A constant 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 has been sent to another private school.

For all his teenage rebelliousness, A.J. actually trusts his parents to the point of blind faith; it took his sister Meadow's patient guidance for him to realise that the family business was not 'waste management consultancy' as his father had insisted. Previously regarded as a good-natured child, A.J. has become sullen, deceitful and increasingly amoral over his teenage years, although this is as much a reaction to his parent's separation as the discovery of the family's criminal enterprises. However, he has grown less hostile since his parents' reconciliation, and 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, and his poor study habits have left him very little in the way of post-high-school opportunities. 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 early seasons, A.J. was portrayed as a fan of heavy metal, with product placements (shirts, coats, and posters) of bands like Slipknot 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 six, A.J. admits to his parents that he has flunked out of college, another worrying parallel to Tony's youth. Unbeknownst to his parents, A.J. has also sworn to his then-comatose father that he would shoot Uncle Junior in revenge for his attempt on Tony's life, although Bobby and Christopher have quietly intervened when they heard of A.J.'s so-far unsuccessful attempts to acquire a gun. He later 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, only to abandon his plan at the last minute. He was prevented from escaping from the facility and arrested, but later released without charge thanks to his father's political connections. Upon his release they had a highly charged argument. At this time he has been seen delving into the New York City club scene and experimenting with cocaine, and is still suffering from the severe panic attacks that afflict his father.

A.J. has shown an interest in environmental issues several times. He claimed that wrapping paper was bad for the environment as an excuse not to wrap his mother's birthday gift. He remarked that his classmates would disapprove of his gas-consuming SUV when Tony bought him the car. He spoke about hybrid cars with Meadow and an unconscious Tony at the beginning of season 6. In season six, A.J. began working at Blockbuster Video, until he was fired for stealing "standees" (large cardboard displays) from his employer, and selling them. He claimed that he was supporting the environment.

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 Seldago, whom he began dating. Blanca, who was Dominican, 10 years A.J.'s senior, and had a 3-year-old son named Hector, met with Carmella's disapproval, although Tony was grateful that she was at least Catholic.

It is learned in a conversation between A.J. and Blanca that he shares a birthday (July 15) with Jesse Ventura.

[edit] External links

• HBO Profile: Anthony Soprano, Jr.