My Life as Fat Tony on ‘The Simpsons’

The Season Three Simpsons episode “Bart the Murderer” is about as classic as Simpsons classics get. The episode, in which Bart gets a job as an errand boy for local mobsters, came right as the show was hitting the sweet spot of its so-called Golden Era, and it’s stuffed with funny references to Goodfellas and The Godfather. 

It also introduced viewers to one of Springfield’s most notorious residents: Fat Tony.

The head of Springfield’s criminal element, Fat Tony has since been featured in more than 100 Simpsons episodes — sometimes as a major part of the story, sometimes as just part of a quick gag. No matter how minor the screen time, though, Fat Tony has been voiced by Joe Mantegna, best known for Criminal Minds, The Godfather Part III and countless other roles. 

Mantegna has always been vocal about his love for his longest-running character, and as such, he recently jumped on the phone to talk to us about Springfield’s most notorious wise guy.

The Simpsons was still fairly new when you got the part of Fat Tony. Were you familiar with the show at the time?

I knew it existed, but I don’t watch TV much, so The Simpsons was new to me when I got the part of Fat Tony. What’s funny is, I’d gotten a call a year or two earlier from Julie Kavner to do something on The Tracey Ullman Show, but it wasn’t for Fat Tony, it was something else. I wasn’t able to do that, but after I did Godfather III, I got approached for Fat Tony. I decided to watch a couple of episodes, and I thought it was smart and great. I thought it would be fun for an episode, and that’s it. I had no preconception that it was going to be anything more than that. 

Where did Fat Tony’s voice come from?

I didn’t want to sound like my character in Godfather III because that movie was still playing. I didn’t want it to be Joey Zasa as a cartoon, so I made an instantaneous decision to channel my Uncle Willie, who actually talks like that. I figured I’d do that unless they asked for something different. I did my first lines like that and nobody said anything, so I figured they must be okay with it. Plus, I knew Willie would get a kick out of it because he was on the periphery of that world anyway. He was a bricklayer, but he grew up with a lot of those wise-guy types in Chicago back in the day.

How did Uncle Willie feel about Fat Tony?

He loved Fat Tony. I even did Willie’s answering machine as Fat Tony. See, my father died when I was about 21, and Uncle Willie, who was one of my mother’s brothers, became like my adopted father until he passed away.

He lived in Chicago, but he’d often come visit me here in California. One time, he happened to be here when I was going to record an episode of The Simpsons. I brought him with me, and they all knew I was channeling my Uncle Willie, so when he walked in, they all said, “Oh my God!” It was ground zero for Fat Tony. 

I’ve read that you’re really protective of Fat Tony and that you’ll come in for the smallest Fat Tony appearance. Is that true?

That’s absolutely true, though I’m that way about everything. I’ve been in films where they just need my hands for a shot and they tell me I can head to the trailer and have my stand-in do it, but I always say, “No.” Even if nobody else knows it’s not me, I’ll know. So, if I’m available, why wouldn’t I do it?

I think there was one episode where Phil Hartman did Fat Tony, because I was in Europe doing a film or something. But yeah, I’ve been very protective. They were trying to do me a favor, saying, “We didn’t want to bring you in for one line.” But I told them, “I’ll come in for one line.” One line or 100 lines, what’s the difference? This is what I do for a living, and I’m very lucky that this is what I do for a living.

Anybody in the cast you’ve gotten particularly close to?

Pamela Hayden and Tress MacNeille. They’re at all the Simpsons parties, and they’re always very sweet. The Simpsons parties are monumental. Lately, they’ve been doing it at Universal because there’s that Simpsons world up there now. It’s fun for me because I go to the restaurant there, where there’s a Fat Tony dish: the Fat Tony Ziti.

Do you order that?

Oh hell yeah! I’m just so flattered that the character has resonated and still resonates.

Tell me about the first time you played him in “Bart the Murderer.”

“Bart the Murderer” was monumental for me. It established the character, and I also love that I got to play myself in it. At the very end of the episode, the family is on the sofa, watching the TV movie of Bart’s story, and you hear, “And Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony and Neil Patrick Harris as Bart.” So you hear me and Neil Patrick Harris as ourselves playing Bart and Fat Tony. 

I have one of those animation cels, too. In my office I have the cel of me as me, and, of course, I have some Fat Tony cels too.

What did you think about the Season 22 episode “Donnie Fatso,” when Fat Tony dies and is replaced by his slimmer cousin, Fit Tony, who soon gains weight and becomes the new Fat Tony?

When I first read that script, I was devastated. I thought, “Oh fuck, I’m done. Fat Tony’s over.” Then I got to the end, and the narration basically explains that Fat Tony is gone and replaced by his cousin, Fit Tony. Then he gained some weight and they called him Fit-Fat Tony, but now he’s just Fat Tony. So, I wound up doing the same guy all over again.

When I did Fit Tony, I did change my voice a little bit to make him a little younger. By the next episode, though, he was Fat Tony, so I just brought back the original voice. But yeah, Simpsons aficionados know that Fat Tony died and the new guy is his cousin.

Do you have other favorite episodes, lines or moments for Fat Tony?

What often happens is, Simpsons fans come up to me, and they throw lines at me like, “The pretzel money, do that bit!” And I’m like, “I remember that episode — kind of.” I do remember the one where I was engaged to one of Marge’s sisters. That was fun. There have also been times I’ve voiced Fat Tony when he was younger, like 18, so I’ve had to figure out what that voice sounds like. 

How do you think Fat Tony measures up to a few other fictional mob bosses, like Vito Corleone?

They would have been friends. They’d be contemporaries. Fat Tony would be very respectful of the Corleone family. They’d break bread together.

How about Paulie from Goodfellas?

Fat Tony would share his love of food. They would swap those prison pasta recipes.

What about Tony Soprano?

That’s a good question. In that last episode, Tony dies, right? I guess they don’t say, but it’s implied. I’ll just say that hopefully Tony Soprano had some fit young nephew who could step right in and fill in for him.