14. Ralph Cifaretto - The Sopranos
HBOHis outspoken love of Ridley Scotts Gladiator may make him rather more endearing to we cinephiles but there can be no denying that Ralph Cifaretto is an unstable psychopath. The gangster first appears as a lowly soldier in the Aprile crew but is able to distinguish himself from the other knuckleheads with his superb earning abilities. He may be a shrewd businessman but Ralphie is unstable and prone to unnecessary violence, made exponentially worse by his addiction to cocaine. We see Ralphie committing acts of violence which makes those of Tony Soprano who you could easily argue also displays psychopathic tendencies to shame, including re-enacting one of his favourite Gladiator scenes on a luckless goon. By far the most depraved thing we witness Ralphie doing is his murder of 20-year-old stripper Tracie. After she insults him in front of other mobsters, an enraged Ralphie pursues her to the clubs car park where he savagely beats her to death after an altercation. The bloody mess he makes of the attractive young girl is a source of disgust to the gangsters who are drawn outside by the commotion. It is Cifarettos impulsiveness even when faced with inevitable punishment from his superiors which makes him one of televisions most deranged psychopaths.