What Happened To Silvio Dante Actor Steven Van Zandt From The Sopranos?
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In "The Sopranos," the closest thing you can get to loyalty in the mafia is Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt), the consigliere of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). Rarely seen without a grimacing frown, Silvio's temper is no less explosive than the other mobsters, and he sometimes entertains friends of his with Al Pacino impressions. ("Just when I thought I was out ... they pull me back in!")
Still, Silvio is the smartest of Tony's lackeys (which is not a steep competition, granted), and he's clear-headed enough to tell his boss when he thinks Tony's making a bad call. The owner of the Bada Bing strip club where the Jersey mob hangs out, Silvio is a fixture of all six "Sopranos" seasons.
Van Zandt was one of the choices to play Tony Soprano himself before James Gandolfini got the part. "The Sopranos" creator David Chase, having seen Van Zandt's speech during rock band the Rascals' induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, was convinced Van Zandt had untapped performing chops.
Chase still wanted Van Zandt on the show even with Gandolfini playing Tony. So, Van Zandt put forth a character he'd previously concieved of: Silvio Dante, a retired mobster turned nightclub owner (inspired by Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine from "Casablanca"). With some tweaks, Silvio was added into "The Sopranos."
"Sopranos" fans may not have seen Van Zandt act much since the show concluded in 2007, and there's a good reason for that: He's a musician much more than an actor. He became famous as a guitarist, nicknamed "Little Steven," in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band in the 1970s. His acting resume is a bit longer than only "The Sopranos," but Little Steven remains a musician first and foremost.
Steven Van Zandt continues to play in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band
Here's a tough question: Who's the bigger New Jersey icon, Bruce Springsteen or Tony Soprano? Regardless of which you pick, Steven Van Zandt is inseparably tied to both of them.
Growing up in Jersey's Monmouth county, Van Zandt was inspired to become a musician primarily by the Rolling Stones. (If he hadn't found music, Van Zandt has said, he might've ended up a real gangster like Silvio.)
According to Springsteen's autobiography, "Born to Run," he and Van Zandt met as teenagers in 1966, when Van Zandt was performing at the local Hullabaloo Club. With similar backgrounds and passions, it's no surprise they became friends. Van Zandt joined Springsteen's E Street Band in 1975; Springsteen credits Van Zandt with helping to craft the guitar riff on "Born to Run," the eponymous song on Springsteen and the E Street Band's 1975 breakout album.
Van Zandt left the E Street Band in 1984 for a solo (and politically-charged) music career. He didn't start a new band, per se, but a protest group called Artists United Against [South African] Apartheid.
The E Street Band disbanded in 1989, but reunited in 1995 and then permanently in 1999. Both times, Van Zandt returned. As of 2026, he's still part of the band; Little Steven has been there for the various 21st century tours (some of which required him to work around his "Sopranos" shooting schedule) and the band's 2009 halftime show at the Super Bowl.
Van Zandt has compared his role in the E Street Band to the part Silvio played on the "Sopranos." It was Silvio's job to break bad news to his boss, the same the job Little Steven has had to do for The Boss.
Steven Van Zandt basically played Silvio again in Netflix's Lilyhammer
Following "The Sopranos," Steven Van Zandt's most prominent acting role was in the very early Netflix series "Lilyhammer." The series, which ran for three seasons from 2012 to 2015, starred Van Zandt as Frank Tagliano, a New York City mobster in witness protection. He relocated to Lillehammer, Norway, since it's too far away for anyone that he flipped on to find him.
If you change Frank's name, "Lilyhammer" could pass as a Silvio-centered sequel to "The Sopranos." In many ways, it already does. While "Lilyhammer" differentiated itself from "The Sopranos" with its setting, it isn't the best argument against Van Zandt's limited acting range since Frank is so similar to Silvio.
Tony Sirico, who played Paulie on "The Sopranos," even had a recurring role on "Lilyhammer" as Frank's brother, Tony Tagliano. (Far from the loathsome gangster Paulie, Tony T. is a priest.) Bruce Springsteen also had a cameo in "Lilyhammer" season 3 as Frank's other brother, Giuseppe Tagliano.
Van Zandt has other acting credits here and there, most recently in the 2024 dark comedy "The Trainer," directed by Tony Kaye ("American History X"). He's even done some voice acting, including a guest appearance in a 2016 episode of "American Dad!" and the 2023 children's film "Under The Boardwalk."
Some of the actor's scant few acting roles even double down on his passion for music. Van Zandt appeared in 2018's Kurt Russell-as-Santa-Claus comedy "The Christmas Chronicles" as an aspiring musician/jailed criminal named Wolfie. (His solo band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, contributed to the movie's soundtrack with a cover of Elvis' "Santa Claus Is Back in Town.") And in 2019, Van Zandt appeared in Martin Scorsese's gangster epic "The Irishman" as the real-life singer Jerry Vale. We look forward to his next big gig.