Pastore was found dead in his Bronx, N.Y., home on Saturday, Aug. 1 at the age of 80
Credit: HBO
NEED TO KNOW
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Vincent Pastore played Salvatore ‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero across 70 episodes of The Sopranos
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Pastore discussed his character’s chilling death on the show in the years that followed
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The actor’s death at the age of 80 was announced on Aug. 1
Vincent Pastore had complicated feelings about his Sopranos run’s end.
The actor, who recently died at the age of 80, played Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, Tony Soprano’s best-friend-turned-mob-informant, on the popular HBO drama. Just three days after his character was “whacked” by Tony and the gang, the actor appeared on The Howard Stern Show to discuss the shocking ending.
Pastore explained he had an inkling of his character’s fate going into the second season, but didn’t know how quickly it might play out. He shared, “We didn’t get the script until like four days out. It was hard.”
Stern and his team commended how Pastore acted in his final scene on the show. The host then asked the actor if he told anyone what was going to happen ahead of the episode’s premiere.
“My daughter [knew] but she kept it to herself,” he said.
On Saturday, Aug. 1, representatives for Pastore confirmed the actor was found dead at his Bronx, N.Y., home by a neighbor who said he became concerned after not hearing from Pastore for several days, according to Deadline.
The circumstances surrounding the actor’s death are still under investigation, per the outlet. The New York Police Department (NYPD) declined to comment when contacted by PEOPLE.
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Credit: HBO
Pastore landed small roles in films including Goodfellas and Men of Respect in the early 1990s before taking on larger parts in movies like The Jerky Boys: The Movie in 1995 and the HBO film Gotti the following year. It was his role in Gotti that got him the audition for The Sopranos, he revealed to Chazz Palminteri in a 2024 podcast chat.
“Georgianne Walken brought me in and I read for David [Chase] for the role of Big Pussy. And I didn’t even have a callback. He gave it to me,” he recalled. Pastore also revealed his competition for the role was Johnny ‘Roastbeef’ Williams.
In addition to his film work, Pastore also amassed dozens of television credits, appearing in series including Law & Order, The Practice and Hawaii Five-0.
He is survived by his daughter Renee, according to TMZ.
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