Played by Tony Sirico, Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri is a high ranking associate of the fictional Soprano crime family of New Jersey. He held the titles of 'Soldier' in Season 1, Capo during Seasons 2 to 5 and rises to the rank of underboss for the sixth and final season of the HBO crime drama.Full name Peter Paul Gualtieri, son of Gennaro Gualtieri (later revealed to be biological son of an army soldier by the name of Russ). He had a misspent youth of petty crime on the streets having left formal schooling early. He worked for Tony Soprano's father from his teens (Tony's and Paulie's families having come the same region of 'the old country'). He had a brief stint with the US Army which ended in him being discharged due to psychiatric reasons. He is, however, very proud of his military background and will refer to this during many conversations on the show. He followed up his time in juvenile correction with further prison sentences in his adulthood. Paulie never marries and has no children that we are aware of.His main character traits on the show although, on occasions, he can appear psychotic and unstable is as a source of comic relief. His paranoia and superstition will often offer up a good dose of humor into the episodes as does his ability to sleep with inexplicably young and attractive women!