Christopher Moltisanti – Sopranos Character Overview

Christopher Moltisanti wanted to be more than a gangster. He wanted to be a somebody. Not just in the eyes of Tony Soprano or the crew, but in the world. Maybe even in history. He wanted to write a screenplay, direct a movie, win some kind of award—hell, he wanted to be taken seriously. That was his curse. In a world that didn’t care about dreams or sensitivity or art, Christopher was just another soldier trying to prove he had what it took, even when he knew deep down that he didn’t.

He was the kid who tried too hard. And eventually, it destroyed him.

Who Was Christopher?

Christopher Moltisanti (played with raw nerve by Michael Imperioli) is introduced as Tony Soprano’s protégé—”like a nephew” to him, even though they’re technically cousins through marriage. Chris is brash, impatient, hotheaded, and insecure. In the mafia world, these traits don’t help your odds of survival. But Tony sees something in him. Maybe he sees a younger version of himself. Maybe he thinks he can mold Chris into a future leader. Either way, Chris becomes Tony’s long-term project.

From the jump, Chris is caught between two identities: gangster and artist. He wants respect on the streets, but he also wants to write screenplays, go to Hollywood meetings, and maybe make a film about his life. He’s got a decent eye for drama (he names his script Cleaver, after all), but he’s not built for a slow climb. He wants it now. And if it doesn’t happen now, the drinking starts. The drugs follow. The resentment simmers.

Traits That Defined Christopher

• Insecurity masked by aggression: Chris constantly overcompensates. He lashes out when he feels overlooked, and he takes minor slights personally. He’s the guy who thinks he’s the next Scorsese but can’t take basic criticism from anyone—even Adriana.
• Addictive personality: Drugs and alcohol are his biggest enemies, and he knows it. But he keeps circling back. Even in recovery, his issues aren’t just chemical—they’re emotional. He doesn’t know how to live without numbing himself.
• Loyalty with limits: Chris tries to be loyal to Tony, but that loyalty is stretched by betrayal, neglect, and paranoia. He wants to be Tony’s heir, but Tony treats him like a tool. Eventually, that tension breaks.
• Ambition with no discipline: Chris has vision, but not patience. He gets excited, then overwhelmed, then sabotages himself. Whether it’s mob work or creative projects, he can’t follow through without blowing something up—sometimes literally.

His Arc: From Hungry Kid to Hollow Man

Chris starts as a low-level enforcer who wants to climb fast. He craves the glamor of mob life but doesn’t understand its toll. He kills Emil Kolar in the first season and immediately has an existential crisis, worried that he’s not getting the credit he deserves. He literally submits a newspaper article to prove he’s making headlines. That’s who Chris is—hungry for recognition, terrified of being nobody.

Over time, the stress of mob life, Tony’s manipulation, and his own addictions grind him down. His relationship with Adriana deteriorates as he becomes more paranoid and abusive. He beats her. He cheats on her. And when the FBI turns her into an informant, Chris doesn’t run away with her—he tells Tony. Adriana is murdered, and Chris never really recovers.

Later, he tries rehab, goes to AA, even becomes a father. But sobriety doesn’t fix the emotional rot. He tries to stay clean, but he keeps a stash “just in case.” He wants to protect his daughter from the life he’s built, but he keeps falling back into the same traps. His last straw comes when Tony finally sees Chris as a liability, not an heir. After a car accident, with Chris high and babbling about how he wouldn’t have survived if his daughter had been in the car, Tony silently smothers him.

That moment isn’t just shocking—it’s tragic. Chris dies not in a blaze of glory, but in a quiet betrayal by the man he loved and hated most. He wanted Tony’s approval. He wanted to make something of himself. Instead, he became a cautionary tale.

Behind the Scenes: Michael Imperioli’s Evolution

Michael Imperioli wasn’t new to mob stories when he took on Christopher—he had already played Spider in Goodfellas, the poor kid Joe Pesci shoots in the foot for no reason. But The Sopranos gave him something else: a character with layers, pain, and constant tension between violence and vulnerability.

David Chase saw Imperioli’s ability to project both volatility and sadness, which made Chris more than just a trigger-happy soldier. And Imperioli took it seriously. He leaned into the rawness of the role, even when it meant playing scenes of relapses, abuse, or failure with unflinching realism.

One interesting wrinkle? Imperioli actually wrote several episodes of The Sopranos, including the fan-favorite “Christopher,” where Paulie and Chris get lost in the woods chasing a Russian. He understood the character from the inside out, and that comes through in every twitchy, nervous moment Chris has on screen.

The Most Human Character?

Chris might be the most relatable character on The Sopranos. Not because we’ve all done what he’s done (hopefully), but because we understand what it’s like to want more than the world is willing to give. We know what it feels like to dream of something better, only to watch ourselves sabotage it. Chris wanted to be taken seriously. He wanted to break out of the mold. But he didn’t have the emotional tools to get there.

And so he became the show’s great tragic figure. Not the boss. Not the hero. Just the guy who almost made it.