Tony Sirico’s Paulie Was Key To The Sopranos’ Secret Weapon
The sad death of Tony Sirico has reminded audiences that his performance as Paulie «Walnuts» Gualtieri was key to The Sopranos' secret weapon. Paulie was one of the few members of Tony Soprano's criminal empire to be left standing when the show ended in 2007. He was defined by his short temper, irrational behavior, and surprising spirituality which manifested as superstition and visions of the Virgin Mary in a strip club.
Tony Sirico grew up in Brooklyn in the 1940s and had spoken in the past about how he'd been seduced by the charms of organized crime. However, acting helped him turn his life around when, during a prison sentence in the early 1970s, he was inspired by the performance of a group of ex-con actors. Along with appearances in numerous movies including James Mangold's Cop Land, Sirico was also an uncredited extra in theGodfather moviesbefore Goodfellas and The Sopranos made him a household name. His role as Paulie in The Sopranos is still regarded as one of the finest characters in television drama and is key to what made the show such a success.
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Tony Sirico obviously brought his life experiences as a self-confessed "pistol-packing guy" to the Sopranos role of Paulie «Walnuts» Gualtieri. But directly tying his performance to his upbringing and criminal past is reductive, and undersells just what a great actor Tony Sirico was. He contained multitudes and was able to portray Paulie as a threatening and unpredictable thug, who was also incredibly funny and deeply vulnerable. This blackly comic dichotomy was perfect for creator David Chase's more psychological portrayal of modern masculinity and family through The Sopranos' gangster show lens.
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