Last week, the world received the devastatingly sad news that Tony Sirico, aged 79, had passed away. Known as a talented actor, friend and colleague, Sirico’s death will certainly leave its mark on the world. The actor appeared in all six seasons of The Sopranos, starring alongside James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano), with his character, Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri, long-remaining a beloved fan favorite.

Throughout the hit HBO series, Paulie is undoubtedly one of the show’s most consistently funny characters, maybe second to only Gandolfini himself. Even from the origins of his nickname, “Walnuts”, which he received by hijacking a truck he thought was full of TVs only to find it was transporting walnuts, the Dimeo crime family captain stands out as a simultaneously eccentric and intimidating figure, his appearance in episodes like “Pine Barrens” helping the show to go down in history.

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In fact, Sirico is one of the only cast members who actually had a history with crime that runs remarkably parallel to his own character’s. In a conversation with Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) in an early series episode, about his own character arc, Paulie shrugs, “Hey, I got no arc either. I was born, grew up, spent a few years in the Army, a few more in the can. And here I am, a half-a-wiseguy. So what?” Going down as one his most famous lines in the series, there is also a ring of authenticity here, as Tony Sirico himself was reportedly well-known in his neighborhood in East Flatbush, New York, for “roughing up” bookies, engaging in general street violence, and his particular specialty, armed robberies. Aside from his IMDB page, Sirico’s rap sheet is also an impressive feat – with an apparent 28 arrests on his record and only two convictions. In an interview with the LA Times, Sirico commented, “Where I grew up, every guy was trying to prove himself. You either had to have a tattoo or a bullet hole. I had both.” An actual Italian-American tough-guy, Sirico’s life story is remarkable to say the least, making it all the more satisfying to see him play a mobster on screen who adds so much comic relief to the dramatic series.

Even more interesting to note is how Sirico fell into a life of crime. In the same LA Times interview, Sirico explains how he can trace his “troubled youth” to a beautiful neighborhood girl that he fell for. Sirico said, “My life was wrecked. I forgot I had a wife. A pregnant wife. I forgot I had kids. All I could see was this girl’s face.” Apparently, in attempt to impress the girl of his dreams, he started to cut corners and eventually ended up in local gangs. Many years later, it was his conviction for an armed robbery that transpired to be a turning point for Sirico – when a group of felons-turned-actors visited the prison where he was serving time. It was here that he found his calling, and began to focus more seriously on acting, taking classes, and later appearing in small roles in mobster-related films, such as the 1974 Crazy Joe, and a brief appearance in The Godfather Part II.

In 1999, Sirico told the New York Daily News, “I’ve done like 45 movies, played 40 gangsters and five crooked cops.” Evidently, the actor was perfectly proud to be typecast as an Italian-American mafioso character, rightly so, as it was these very traits - in addition to his natural charisma and acting skills - that led to his eventual, most well-known pre-Sopranos role as Frankie Basil in Goodfellas, shoving mailmen’s heads into pizza ovens, before finally playing Paulie Gualtieri in David Chase’ The Sopranos.

Funnily enough, Sirico actually auditioned to play Uncle Junior, but was told he was too young. His eventual casting as Paulie, though, really does seem like it was fate. Cast members note how Sirico was so much like Paulie in so many ways. In a 2002 New York Daily Times interview, Sirico himself commented, “When I look in the mirror in the morning, I don’t know if I’m lookin’ at Tony or Paulie. We got cross-pollinated.” In The Sopranos, Paulie is definitely a stand-out crime family member. Despite being one of the top earners and one of Tony’s own inner circle, perhaps ironically because of his lack of ambition and ability to simply just stay in his lane, Paulie is constantly seen craving Tony’s approval, repeating jokes to make sure they are heard and even hanging a – albeit slightly modified – portrait of his boss in his living room. He is known for his germaphobia and meticulous collection of white shoes, but also his paranoia and strange connection to superstitions and supernatural experiences, like seeing the Virgin Mary in the “Bada Bing”, and let’s not forget the infamous scene where he visits a psychic who can sense the spirit of Charles ‘Sonny’ Pagana – the first guy Paulie ever whacked. Like many of his colleagues, he shows a complete lack of empathy, but with Paulie, this is always represented in series with a tone of dark comedy and satirical humor, making him a beloved character despite his awful acts – enter Paulie complaining loudly about poison ivy while shooting Mikey Palmice dead in the woods.

On the topic of “the woods”, we can’t talk about Paulie Walnuts without taking a moment to appreciate the beauty of the 11th episode of season 3, “Pine Barrens”. A huge fan favorite, the almost completely self-contained episode takes a swerve away from the usual Sopranos backdrops, taking place in a snowy fairy tale-like woodland in South Jersey. All at once, the episode is gripping, absurd and hilarious, with Imperioli and Sirico’s collective performances delivering the perfect level of eccentricity needed for such a storyline. Here, we hear Paulie’s arguably most quoted line ever, “He killed 16 Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.” Sirico is brilliant with conveying Paulie’s quickly escalating sense of panic throughout the episode’s chaotic 45 minutes, running around through the snow chasing the elusive Russian whose fate is never revealed. In an article for The Ringer, writer, Terence Winter, talks about the genuine laughs had behind the scenes by the cast – Sirico: “When people tell me they want to be an actor, they should fucking see this. Freezing my balls off, I’m exhausted, I’m about to throw up from running up a hill in the snow four times.”

The episode is also the first time we see Paulie’s signature, slicked-back, jet-black hair with silver wings completely in disarray. As Steve Buscemi, the episode director, notes in the same Ringer article about Sirico’s trademark hairstyle, “He always did his own hair. He was very particular about his hair, and it did take some convincing to let us mess it up.” Interestingly, the filming of this episode also led the cast to note some more unnerving similarities between the actor and his character, where, in a diva-like move, it is reported that Sirico actually sent a production assistant on a four-hour round trip to exchange some pillows he didn’t like at his hotel. With all this from a leading episode character, “Pine Barrens” truly shines as a comedic masterpiece within the series, largely down to the acting duo’s incredible performance - when else do we get to see two mafioso wise-guys huddling over packets of condiments while wrapped up in carpets.

Truly one-of-a-kind, Paulie Gualtieri will certainly remain in fans’ minds as a whole and complete wiseguy, laughing over nothing, always adorned in colourful tracksuits and combing his silver wings. Rest in Peace, Tony Sirico.