15 Greatest HBO Characters Of All Time

Put simply, there is no other option. The best, most developed and fleshed out character on TV; perhaps in any art, ever. Tony Soprano is selfish, greedy and violent; Tony Soprano is a loving husband and father. Tony Soprano is a glutton, an adulterer, a murderer; Tony Soprano is an animal lover and a friend. Tony Soprano is a full human being.

Over the course of 86 hours, creator David Chase and the late James Gandolfini turned another in a long line of on-screen gangsters into a fully realised person. Stick with the series to the end and you'll know Tony inside and out. You'll get him, even if you fear him – even if you hate him.

But a detailed biography alone doesn't make a great character – more importantly, Tony is fascinating to watch. Predictably unpredictable, he is smart and competent, but unable to resist his more self destructive urges. He is frustrating, relatable. Sure, your errors may not be on a par with Tony's – likely you've never strangled a colleague to death for killing your racehorse. But Tony Soprano is disgustingly real, disgustingly human. He's not a cautionary tale, or a morality play. He's just a deeply flawed man.