Nucky Thompson
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Nucky Thompson | |
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Enoch Malachi[1] "Nucky" Thompson is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire, portrayed by Steve Buscemi. Nucky is loosely based on former Atlantic City, New Jersey political figure Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson.[2]
Nucky is employed as treasurer of Atlantic County, but in effect controls the region as a political boss. He is a corrupt and powerful politician who leads a double life as a gangster, and continuously struggles to meet his interests on both fronts. Charming and intelligent, he is adored by the people of Atlantic City, especially its poor and immigrant inhabitants, for his numerous acts of charity. However, in private he has a tight grip on the city's politics and vice. Throughout the series he is portrayed as a Machiavellian politician who makes his henchmen do the dirty work, while showing a more humane side to his friends and family. However, by the end of season 2 he is shown becoming more ruthless in order to compete in the violent bootlegging business.[2]
Buscemi won Best Actor in Dramatic Series at the 68th Golden Globe Awards for his performance as Nucky. In flashbacks throughout the fifth season, he is played by Nolan Lyons as a child and Marc Pickering as a young man.
Fictional biography
Enoch "Nucky" Thompson was born around 1870 and raised in
Nucky became sheriff after he arranged for the Commodore to rape Gillian Darmody (Gretchen Mol), who was only 13 years old at the time.[6][7] Fifteen years prior to the series' timeline, Nucky lost his infant son, Enoch Jr., to pneumonia, a tragedy that drove his wife, Mabel, to commit suicide.[8] Nucky helped raise Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), the Commodore's son with Gillian, and pulled strings to get him into Princeton University. He is disappointed when Jimmy drops out to enlist in World War I, but still gives him a job as his personal driver after the war ends. When Jimmy finds out that Nucky enabled the Commodore to rape Gillian,[7] it creates a rift between them.
Season one
In the
Nucky meets Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald), a pregnant member of the Women's Temperance League who seeks work for her abusive husband, Hans (Joseph Sikora). Nucky is immediately taken with her and gives her some money. He has Hans killed after he beats her so badly that she miscarries the child,[10] and gets her a job at a boutique after she gets out of the hospital.[5] Nucky and Margaret soon become lovers,[12] and by the end of the season he informally adopts her children, Teddy and Emily. This creates tension between him and his former mistress, Lucy Danziger (Paz de la Huerta). Margaret eventually learns the extent of Nucky's corruption, including his order to have Hans killed.[13] She leaves him after they have a heated argument.[7] When Margaret finds out that Nucky had lost a child, however, she meets with him to express her sympathy, and he tells her that the time he spent with her and her children was the happiest of his life. Moved by his sincerity – and realizing that she and her children would likely starve without his support – Margaret renews their relationship.[8]
Rothstein, seeking revenge for the robbery, employs the D'Alessio brothers to strike back at Nucky's enterprise. They first make their move by
At the end of the season, Nucky and Rothstein come to a truce: all will be forgiven and Nucky will use his political connections to help Rothstein dodge a federal indictment for fixing the 1919 World Series in exchange for $1 million and for Rothstein giving up the remaining D'Alessio brothers, whom Nucky quickly has tracked down and killed. As Nucky rings in the new year of 1921 with Margaret at his side, Jimmy, Eli and the Commodore conspire to overthrow him and take over Atlantic City.[8]
Season two
A few months later, Nucky is arrested for
Following his father's death, Nucky resigns as treasurer and tells Jimmy and the Commodore that they have won.
By this time, the U.S. Attorney's Office has found damning evidence of Nucky's crimes. Nucky gives Margaret temporary guardianship of a valuable piece of real estate so that she and the children will be taken care of should he go to prison. Emily contracts polio, which Margaret believes is divine retribution for their sins;[18] she considers cleansing her soul by testifying against Nucky, which would send him to the electric chair.[20] Nucky tells her that he wants to marry her and become a better man, while admitting that marrying her would make her unable to take the stand against him. The next day, Margaret sees him teaching Emily to walk in her leg braces and realizes that he loves her and her children. They get married that afternoon at Margaret's church.[21]
Jimmy meets with Nucky to apologize for his treason, offering to help. On Nucky's order, Jimmy and Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) kill Alderman James Neary (Robert Clohessy), the prosecution's main witness. The U.S. Attorney's Office is forced to drop the charges. Nucky then visits Eli and makes him a deal: he will plead guilty to the voter fraud case and be sentenced to two years in prison, thus protecting Nucky from being charged again. That night, Nucky calls Jimmy and tells him that he has kidnapped Manny Horvitz (William Forsythe), the man who killed Jimmy's wife Angela (Aleksa Palladino). It is a trap, however, as Nucky actually plans to kill Jimmy as retaliation for an assassination attempt that Jimmy had ordered on him earlier in the season. Jimmy realizes that he's walking into a trap, and as such shows up to the meeting unarmed. Nucky's men hold him at gunpoint, and Nucky shoots him twice in the head, killing him.[21] The next day, Nucky lies to Margaret about reconciling with Jimmy, a lie she immediately sees through. To punish him, Margaret signs over the deed to his real estate – which he had planned to use in a lucrative road construction deal – to her church.[21]
Season three
At the start of 1923, Nucky faces trouble from Gyp Rosetti (Bobby Cannavale), a New York gangster who works for Joe Masseria (Ivo Nandi). Due to political turmoil involving U.S. Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty (Christopher McDonald), whom Nucky pays $40,000 a month to protect him from any criminal investigations, Nucky agrees to simplify his operation and sell exclusively to Rothstein. Infuriated, Rosetti takes over Tabor Heights, a small town on the road between Atlantic City and New York where convoys stop for gas. He then blockades any of Nucky's alcohol deliveries from going through.[22] The feud escalates when Rosetti hijacks a convoy, killing eleven of Nucky's men.[23] Rothstein sends Benjamin Siegel (Michael Zegen) to kill Rosetti, but the hit is unsuccessful. However, it does force Rosetti to flee Tabor Heights and go back to New York.
Back home, Nucky's marriage to Margaret is now no more than a public show, and Nucky spends much of his time in
In
Rosetti convinces Masseria to provide him with extra men to take over Atlantic City. Acting on a tip from Gillian, who wants revenge for Jimmy's murder, Rosetti bombs Nucky's favorite restaurant in order to kill him, Rothstein and Luciano. All three survive the explosion, but Billie is killed and Nucky is left with temporary
Nucky narrowly escapes an attempt on his life by Masseria's men, killing his would-be assailants (although not before Eddie is wounded), and recruits Chalky and Capone to provide men to fight back against Rosetti.[28] An all-out gang war ensues, with massive casualties on both sides. Rothstein tries to convince Masseria to end his support for Rosetti in exchange for Nucky giving up 99% of the profits from Mellon's distillery. The agreement is a trap, however; as part of his deal with Nucky, Mellon has Rothstein arrested. Chalky and Capone send their men to ambush and massacre Masseria's men as they leave Atlantic City. Meanwhile, Harrow unexpectedly storms the Artemis Club, massacring Rosetti's men and managing to rescue Tommy Darmody, who is held at gunpoint. Rosetti and two of his men are able to escape. While searching the club afterwards, Nucky and Eli find Rosetti's right-hand man Tonino Sandrelli (Chris Caldovino) hiding in a closet, and get him to kill Rosetti in exchange for sparing his life. Nucky tries to reconcile with Margaret, who has left him and taken the children. Margaret rebuffs him, however, and refuses to accept money from him.[29]
Season four
In 1924, Nucky has made peace with Masseria and Rothstein, and is a silent partner in Chalky's nightclub on the Boardwalk. He travels to
Nucky's empire faces a new threat in
Chalky asks for Nucky's backing in a war with heroin kingpin
Nucky begins to suspect that Eli is informing on him,[37] and cancels the meeting with Masseria. He arranges to go with Sally to Cuba, but first confronts Eli. Nucky pulls a gun on his brother, but after Willie walks in and Eli reveals Tolliver's blackmail, Nucky cannot bring himself to pull the trigger.[39] When Eli kills Tolliver, Nucky sends him to Chicago under Capone's protection and goes to Cuba with Sally.[38]
Season five
In 1931, Nucky travels between Cuba, New York and New Jersey, planning to go into the legal liquor business in anticipation of the end of Prohibition.
Nucky goes to meet with Maranzano, in hopes of joining forces with him against Luciano, but he ends up surviving another attempt on his life, this time backed by his old friend Torrio. Nucky declares war on him and Luciano.
In the series finale, Nucky short sells Mayflower's stock with Margaret's help, and he makes a huge profit. He plans to leave Atlantic City forever, and says goodbye to Eli, leaving him with a bag of money. He refuses to help Gillian get out of the sanatorium but offers to establish a trust fund for her should she get out on her own.
On Nucky's last night in Atlantic City, he gets a call from the police, who have arrested Harper. Nucky bails him out and offers to give him money, but Harper angrily rejects the gesture. Hours later, Harper confronts Nucky and reveals who he truly is; Tommy Darmody, Jimmy Darmody's son and Gillian's grandson. Tommy accuses Nucky of betraying Gillian and guns him down. Nucky dies as IRS agents, who had followed him the entire evening, identify themselves and arrest Tommy. The arrival of the agents is a reference to the eventual fate of the real Enoch Johnson, who was imprisoned in 1941 on tax evasion charges.[6]
Casting
In casting the role of Nucky Thompson (based upon real-life Atlantic City political boss Enoch L. Johnson), Winter wanted to stray from the real life of Johnson as much as possible. "If we were going to cast accurately what the real Nucky looked like, we'd have cast Jim Gandolfini."[9] The idea of casting Steve Buscemi in the lead role came about when Scorsese mentioned wanting to work with the actor, whom Winter knew well having worked with him on The Sopranos. Winter sent the script out to Buscemi, who responded very enthusiastically. "I just thought, 'Wow. I'm almost sorry I've read this, because if I don't get it, I'm going to be so sad.' My response was 'Terry, I know you're looking at other actors'... and he said, 'No, no, Steve, I said we want you.'"[43] Explained Scorsese, "I love the range he has, his dramatic sense, but also his sense of humor."[43]
Reception
Buscemi has won and been nominated for several awards for his portrayal of Nucky Thompson. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Award at the 63rd and 64th Primetime Emmy Awards. In addition, Buscemi won Best Actor in Dramatic Series at the 68th Golden Globe Awards, while also getting nominated at the 69th and 70th Awards. The cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 17th and 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards while being nominated at the 19th, 20th and 21st. Buscemi won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series two years in a row from 2011 to 2012, while also being nominated in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
References
- Bone For Tuna". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 3. September 30, 2012. HBO.
- ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (September 9, 2010). "Interview: 'Boardwalk Empire' creator Terence Winter". Hit Fix. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- Home". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 7. October 31, 2010. HBO.
- ^ Golden Days for Boys and Girls". Boardwalk Empire. Season 5. Episode 1. September 7, 2014. HBO.
- ^ The Ivory Tower". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 2. September 28, 2010. HBO.
- ^ Eldorado". Boardwalk Empire. Season 5. Episode 8. October 26, 2014. HBO.
- ^ Paris Green". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 11. November 28, 2010. HBO.
- ^ A Return to Normalcy". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 12. December 5, 2010. HBO.
- ^ a b Lowry, Brian (September 12, 2010). "Review: 'Boardwalk Empire'". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation.
- ^ Boardwalk Empire". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 1. September 19, 2010. HBO.
- ^ Hold Me in Paradise". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 8. November 7, 2010. HBO.
- Nights in Ballygran". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 5. October 17, 2010. HBO.
- Hold Me in Paradise". Boardwalk Empire. Season 1. Episode 8. November 7, 2010. NBC.
- 21". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 1. September 25, 2011. NBC.
- Gimcrack & Bunkum". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 5. October 23, 2011. HBO.
- Peg of Old". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 7. November 6, 2011. HBO.
- Two Boats and a Lifeguard". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 8. November 14, 2011. HBO.
- ^ Battle of the Century". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 9. November 20, 2011. HBO.
- Georgia Peaches". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 10. November 27, 2011. HBO.
- Under God's Power, She Flourishes". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 11. December 4, 2011. HBO.
- ^ To The Lost". Boardwalk Empire. Season 2. Episode 12. December 11, 2011. HBO.
- Resolution". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 1. September 16, 2012. HBO.
- ^ Blue Bell Boy". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 4. October 7, 2012. HBO.
- Sunday Best". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 7. October 28, 2012. HBO.
- ^ The Pony". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 8. November 4, 2012. HBO.
- The Milkmaid's Lot". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 9. November 11, 2012. HBO.
- A Man, A Plan...". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 10. November 18, 2012. HBO.
- Two Imposters". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 11. November 25, 2012. HBO.
- Margate Sands". Boardwalk Empire. Season 3. Episode 12. December 2, 2012. HBO.
- ^ New York Sour". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 1. September 8, 2013. HBO.
- All In". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 4. September 29, 2013. HBO.
- Acres of Diamonds". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 3. September 22, 2013. HBO.
- ^ Erlkönig". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 5. October 6, 2013. HBO.
- The North Star". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 6. October 13, 2013. HBO.
- William Wilson". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 7. October 20, 2013. HBO.
- ^ White Horse Pike". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 10. November 10, 2013. HBO.
- ^ Havre de Grace". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 11. November 17, 2013. HBO.
- ^ Farewell Daddy Blues". Boardwalk Empire. Season 4. Episode 12. November 24, 2013. HBO.
- ^ "Boardwalk Empire Season Finale Post Mortem: EP Terence Winter Reveals Why [Spoiler] Had to die and Who Will (And Won't) be Back for Season 5". 25 November 2013.
- ^ Cuanto". Boardwalk Empire. Season 5. Episode 4. September 28, 2014. HBO.
- King of Norway". Boardwalk Empire. Season 5. Episode 5. October 5, 2014. HBO.
- Friendless Child". Boardwalk Empire. Season 5. Episode 7. October 19, 2014. HBO.
- ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (August 7, 2010). "Press Tour: HBO's Boardwalk Empire brings Martin Scorsese to television". Hit Flix. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
External links
- Nucky Thompson Bio at HBO.com