| “ | You know, there are worse things that can happen to a person than cancer.
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„ |
| ― Furio Giunta |
Furio Giunta is a main character on The Sopranos. An effective and ruthless Italian camorrista from Naples, Furio works for the Zucca Camorra family and its boss Annalisa Zucca before being transferred to the Soprano crime family in New Jersey and going on to work as the main bodyguard and enforcer for Tony Soprano. He is portrayed by Federico Castelluccio.
Quick Answers
What is Furio Giunta's role in the Soprano crime family?
How does Furio's relationship with Carmela develop in The Sopranos?
What was Furio's job before he joined the Soprano crime family?
What is the nature of Furio's relationship with Tony Soprano?
What led to Furio's departure from The Sopranos?
Biography
He has gentleman-like manners and a tender heart for children. Before he was imported from Naples, he was working for a rich man on an Olive Oil Farm. He also was a high ranking soldier in the Zucca Camorra Family, working under mob boss Annalisa Zucca, who was also his cousin. After attempting to take a bullet for Don Vittorio and showing his ruthlessness by hitting a kid playing with firecrackers. Tony decided to "make some changes", and bring him to New Jersey where he became admired by all, particularly Tony's wife, Carmela. After a short discussion, Tony's friend Artie Bucco decides to help Furio with the immigration by letting him work in his restaurant as a pretense for a work visa. He is quite friendly and nice when it comes to close friends and family, but he is shown to despise those who have a status below him. Furio will even personally harass them to show his high rank in the family. The most notable case being him robbing, and mocking New Jersey associates Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte. Accompanied by an Italian compatriot, Gaetano Giarizzo, Furio went to an apartment shared by both Bevilaqua and Gismonte to collect tribute money for Tony Soprano. Tony's "cut" came to $7,500. Gismonte referred to Furio as "that f***ing Zip". Furio also intimidated Matt into giving both he and Gaetano $1,000 more. In Italian, Furio openly mocked the naïve associates, because they lived together and the men were both in their underwear, cruelly suggesting they were a same sex couple. After they left, Sean Gismonte refers to Gaetano as a "greaseball wop" behind his back.
By 2000, Furio was on the FBI's radar, due in part to information provided by then-active DiMeo soldier & undercover informant, Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero. Because Furio had recently aligned with the Sopranos, and was of the same rank as Bonpensiero, only to be granted with preferential treatment by Soprano himself, Salvatore felt under appreciated, and developed jealousy towards Giunta. In a private conversation at a restaurant, Bonpensiero shared his resentment of Furio to his FBI handler, Skip Lipari by referring to Furio as "The Geep." "If ever there was a guy in desperate need of a f***kin' nickname." Bonpensiero's resentment of Giunta only increased further when Giunta was allowed to join a sit down held at Nuovo Vesuvio and attended by Bonpensiero's contemporary, DiMeo veteran, Paulie Gualtieri, and Lupertazzi underboss, Johnny Sacrimoni. Bonpensiero was coldly told by Gualtieri to leave the three of them be.[1]
Furio has a key role in Season 4, as the mutual attraction between Carmela and himself grows. Furio is infatuated with Carmela, and Carmela likewise feels an intense infatuation with him. They both make excuses to just see each other, and when Carmela goes to Furio's house to meet with him about re-modeling his house, she brings A.J. along with her every time, as a means of having someone there to prevent her and Furio from being tempted to turn their infatuation into a physical relationship.
When Furio travels to Italy to attend the funeral of his father, he speaks with his Uncle Maurizio, and reveals his feelings for Carmela to him. Maurizio warns him that it is very dangerous to become involved with the Don's wife, and the only way he could ever be with Carmela was if he killed Tony. This information further makes life complicated for Furio, as he is being pulled in two different directions. He is a loyal soldier to Tony Soprano and has traditional Mafia values, but he also loves Carmela and knows that he cannot be with her while Tony is still alive.
Later in the season, when Furio and Tony are at a party, Furio sees how Tony drunkenly interacts with other women, and feels that he does not deserve Carmela. Before they board a helicopter that will take them home, they both stop to relieve themselves near the helicopter, with Tony standing near one of the helicopter's rotating blades. Furio suddenly grabs Tony by the collar and is pushing him towards the helicopter blades when he suddenly stops and lets him go. He claims that Tony was standing too close and was pulling him away, but his real intention at first was to push Tony into the helicopter blades, and hence, kill him. Furio's unwavering loyalty and old-school Mafia values are most likely what saved Tony's life. At this point, Furio realized he could no longer be in Tony Soprano's crew, and soon left for Naples without informing anybody and left a phone message at the Bada-Bing at 4:30 in the morning saying he was leaving.
When Tony and Carmela have a confrontation after his ex-comare Irina called their house, Carmela reveals to Tony her true feelings about Furio. Tony is furious, and reveals a year later that he contacted the Zucca Family, telling them to kill Furio if they see him. Though Tony’s word is most likely an empty threat. Furio most definitely went back to working for the Zucca Family, and they ignored Tony’s orders of killing him, especially due to his cousin Annalisa Zucca’s influence, how much of a valuable asset he is to them, and the low opinion the Naples mafia generally have for the New Jersey mob. It is unknown what happened to him after Season 4, due to the actor departing the show, but it can be assumed Furio continued to be active in the mob business under the Zucca family by the time the series reaches the finale.
Trivia
- According to Federico Castelluccio, his envisioned idea of what happened to Furio is that he became the boss of the Zucca Family after Annalisa gets arrested, and he cuts off all business dealings with the Soprano family.
Appearance
| Episodes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
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| Season 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 2 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||||
| Season 3 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||
| Season 4 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||||||||||
| Season 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Season 6 |