15 Greatest HBO Characters Of All Time
4. Carmela Soprano
Edie Falco is one of the greatest actresses of all time, and also one of the most efficient. With the slightest of facial expressions she can convey decades of dissatisfaction, resignation, regret. The Sopranos may be pigeonholed as a gangster drama, but through Carmela, it is so much more than that.
The only person able to stand up to her ruthless, mob boss husband, Carmela's character is one of the most conflicted on TV. She's repelled by Tony's work, and yet knows it's the cornerstone on which her family's stability is built – and at times, it's implied she's maybe not so opposed after all. A venal and selfish woman, you nonetheless feel for Carmela, trapped in a plush, soulless life of her own design.
Falco and the creative team consistently resist the urge to make Carmela a melodramatic mob wife cliché, or even a particularly decent person. But through years of careful character development and exceptional acting, you can't help but get her.