A.J. Soprano

Anthony John Soprano Jr. is a fictional character on the HBO television series The Sopranos, portrayed by Robert Iler. He is the son of Carmela and Tony Soprano and the younger brother of Meadow Soprano.

Anthony was born July 15, 1986, and is the younger child of Tony and Carmela Soprano. Unlike his older sister, AJ is a chronic underachiever with moderate self-esteem issues. During his high school years, he began developing a rebellious streak that leads him to crashing his mother's car, smoking marijuana at his own confirmation, getting drunk on stolen communion wine, vandalizing his school's swimming pool, and getting expelled from school after cheating on a test. As Tony and Carmela get to their wits end with his antics, they decide to send him to military school to teach him tough love and discipline, but after learning he gets panic attacks just like Tony, they decide to keep him in public school by sending him to another school, but keep a closer eye on him.

In the episode "D-Girl", after reading The Stranger and Friedrich Nietzsche, AJ states that "God is dead" and that he does not want to get confirmed. Despite his objections, he receives his confirmation. In the episode "Pie-O-My", he is heard listening to "The Gift That Keeps On Giving", a song about accepting the word of Satan, by Deicide, an anti-Christian Satanist death metal band that is named after deicide, the act of killing a god.

Despite all of his troubles, AJ is a spoiled child. In the episode "Two Tonys", it is revealed that Tony bought him an elaborate $5,000 drum set. Additionally, in the episode "All Happy Families...", Tony gets him an almost new Nissan Xterra as a "motivational tool". A.J. is excited about the SUV, however, he comments about the environmental impact of the car, and also states he may encounter social pressure from school friends to drive a different vehicle.

During the fifth season, A.J. shows an increasing amount of disrespect to his mother, presumably due to his parents' separation. He tends to relate better to his father, and ends up moving in with him during the separation. However, in the episode "Sentimental Education", A.J. and Tony get into a scuffle over A.J.'s lack of respect. A.J. soon decides he wants to move back in with his mother, threatening to call social services due to the ongoing "violence against children" present in his father's home. Carmela demands certain things from A.J. in return for allowing him to move back in (e.g., showing respect to his mother, not swearing, tending to schoolwork).

Frequently throughout the series, Tony and Carmela express concern about A.J.'s future. Tony has no desire to offer his son a position in the mafia. In the fifth season of the show, A.J. displays an unexpected interest in pursuing a career in event planning, but later derides his parents' mentions of it (e.g., in "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request...").

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 poor academic performance. During Season 3, when Tony asks him about it at a family dinner, A.J. claims that he never said that, as he knows his grades wouldn't be good enough. Throughout Season 5, references are made to the unlikelihood of A.J.'s being admitted to a four-year university.

In Season 6A, A.J. admits to his parents that he has flunked out of the community college he was attending, a worrying parallel to Tony's own youth. After a senile Uncle Junior mistakes Tony as an intruder and shoots him, A.J. steals a large knife and goes to the institution where Junior is being held, in a futile effort to exact revenge for his father. He is arrested, but later released without charges thanks to his father's political connections. He delves deep into the New York City club scene and begins using cocaine.