What’s A.J. from ‘The Sopranos’ doing now?

Robert Iler was cast in The Sopranos as Anthony Junior, the son of Tony Soprano, played by the very iconic actor Italian-American actor James Gandolfini, in a show that would later become one of the most renowned HBO shows in the history of American television. The Sopranos has recently gained momentum again as younger audiences are watching it, as demonstrated by the recent New York Times article.

The Sopranos is based on the trajectory of an Italian-American mafia family settled in New Jersey, headed by the patriarch Tony Soprano, acted by James Gandolfini. It had a run for a total of six seasons, ending in 2007.

Robert Iler became dispassionate about acting once the show stopped airing, given the fact that he started acting at the raw age of 12. The show ended after eight years of running. Iler had to do a few more acting roles after The Sopranos to “get out of jury duty”. He tried to distance himself from the entertainment industry as much as he possibly could.

Iler decided to start playing poker after the run of The Sopranos and eventually became a professional poker player in Las Vegas. He had a brief career making money playing poker. He claims that he stayed with poker after trying it because it offered no rules, and that was something he really needed after his acting career with The Sopranos. 

Iler quit his career of being a professional poker player after confronting how his life has gotten filled with drugs, gambling, and partying. He started working towards sobriety after quitting his career as a professional poker player. He claims to have stayed away from alcohol and hard drugs since 2013.

Iler says he hasn’t watched the entire series himself because it remains awkward to see oneself acting, and also because it stings to watch James Gandolfini on screen, whom he considered a father figure.

Iler is now doing a podcast with his screen sister Jamie-Lynn Sigler, titled Pajama Pants. They use the podcast to talk about their life stories, The Sopranos, and everything else.

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