Furio Giunta

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Furio Giunta
First appearance	Commendatori (episode 2.04)
Last appearance	Eloise (episode 4.12)
Information
Gender	Male
Age	late 30's
Occupation	Chef at La Vesuvio Restaurant /Soldier in the Gualtieri crew of the DiMeo Crime Family Lieutenant in charge of Sicilian crew Former lieutenant in the Don Vittorio family in Naples
Title	Chef
Portrayed by	Federico Castelluccio
Created by	David Chase

Furio Giunta, played by Federico Castelluccio, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos, one of the mobsters working for series lead Tony Soprano.

Furio was the only member of Tony's crew born in Italy. Tony bargained with Italian mob boss Annalisa Zucca for Furio to come to New Jersey to work for him as part of an international car-theft operation. This impulse to integrate Furio into his association emerged once he saw Furio beat a young boy for playing with firecrackers and consequently imitating the sound of gun shots. Tony Soprano saw that Furio had absolutely no inhibitions and a merciless wrath embedded by a sincere loyalty to his boss (Furio shields his boss with his own body when the firecrackers are first heard). Furio then became one of Tony's most feared enforcers, intimidating and beating up multiple people owing Tony money as well as acting as Tony's driver. Tony got Furio a job as a mozzerella maker in La Vesuvio Restaurant. Furio's first assignment was to extract payment from a massage parlour owner whose wife had convinced him to withhold payment. In an earlier visit Chris had acted in an intimidating manner and shoved a paintbrush dipped in paint into his nostril. Furio was a little less restrained - he smashed the place up with fearless guile, and had no hesitation to hit the girls or the wife. He then broke the owner's arm in a submission hold with a bat and subsequently shot him in the knee cap - all of which made a positive impression on Tony. He was also one of the few people to know that Richie Aprile died - Tony tasked him and Christopher with dismembering his body at Satriale's, the butchers. Furio made collections from low level associates Matthew Bevilacqua and Sean Gismonte and was not above taking a cut of his own. Furio was later tasked with reclaiming Tony's assumed debt from conman Jean Pierre Colbert.

Furio eventually began to fall in love with Tony's wife, Carmela, who also saw him as a dashing, sensitive man — Tony's polar opposite — but the two never truly became romantically entwined. Carmela tried to deflect her attraction by arranging dates for Furio. For a time, however, there was significant tension between them. Carmela found excuses to visit Furio including assisting him in buying and decorating a house and planning a housewarming, but made sure she was never alone with him. At the housewarming they shared a sexually charged dance. For his part Furio rung Carmela on the pretense of having lost his sunglasses.

When Furio's father died he returned to Italy for the funeral. He sought the advice of his uncle, telling him that Italy no longer felt like home and that he was in love with his boss' wife, feeling that they could truly communicate. His uncle made it clear he had to move on or kill his boss. Upon his return Furio withdrew from Carmela, presenting gifts to her children but not her. Seeing Tony's infidelity first hand on a night out at a casino made Furio angry enough to grab his boss near the rotor blades of a helicopter that had been organized to take them home. Furio told Tony he had grabbed him because he was standing too close, Tony was so drunk he only seemed slightly fazed and didn't seem to recall the incident the following day. Faced with the possibility of being killed by a vengeful Tony — and with ongoing thoughts of killing Tony himself — Furio packed up, moved back to Italy and disappeared. Tony apparently still has men looking for him, but no-one has found him since. Carmela was devastated and eventually revealed her feelings for him in an argument with Tony.

According to Sopranos creator David Chase, the character of Furio will not be returning to the show.

[edit] External link

• HBO Profile: Furio Giunta