Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,483
edits
Boardwalk Empire/Characters: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (Mass update links) |
No edit summary |
||
| (43 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 2:
== The Main Trio ==
[[File:Buscemi-as-Nucky_752.jpg|frame|"We all have to decide how much sin we can live with."]]
The primary [[Villain Protagonist]] of the series. He is the corrupt treasurer of Atlantic County and ends up somewhat accidentally in the world of organized crime after he begins investing in bootlegging. Played by [[Steve Buscemi]].
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Abusive Parents]]: His father was horribly physically and emotionally abusive to him.
* [[Affably Evil]]
* [[Aloof Big Brother]]: To Eli.
* [[Anti-Villain]]: While he's certainly corrupt, Nucky is also motivated by a desire to help his constituents and is a very sympathetic figure because of his kindness to others and tragic backstory.
*
* [[Badass Boast]]:
** "Wanna be a gangster in my town? You pay me for the privilege"
Line 18:
** "I will ruin you. All of you."
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: He can be a pretty nice guy, just don't cross him.
* [[Calling the Old Man Out]]:
* [[The Chains of Commanding]]: His enemies think that his job could be easily done by anyone. They are so very, very wrong.
* [[The Chessmaster]]: Nucky is trying to become one following Rothstein's advice. Since he has no real options left at the moment, he will retreat, put all his pieces back on the board, maneuver them into position and then strike back.
* [[Clothes Make the Legend]]: Colorful shirts and suits, red flower and bowler hat.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: And a master of the [[Stealth Insult]].
* [[Equal Opportunity Evil]]: While not without prejudice, he's one of the least bigoted characters in the series.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Despite being fine with political corruption among many other crimes, he ''strongly'' disapproves of spousal and child abuse.
* [[Expy]]: Based on the real historical figure Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, with the name changed so the writers have more leeway for telling his story. The character also seems to be [[Age Lift|older]] than his real counterpart, who was 37 in 1920.
* [[Friend to All Children]]
* [[Grammar Nazi]]
* [[Honorary Uncle]]: To Margaret's children.
* [[Jerk
* [[Karma Houdini]]: The show's plot could be summed as "watch Nucky Thompson weasel out of the problems he's getting into
* [[Kavorka Man]]
* [[Kick the Son of
* [[Lonely
* [[The Man Behind the Man]]: Mayors, senators and even ''presidents'' owe him their position in some way.
* [[Mangst]]: Childhood abuse, dead wife
* [[Manipulative Bastard]]
* [[Nice to
** He also gets more and more jerkish to Harlan after he begins working directly for him. This pretty much confirms that Nucky has a problem dealing with people on a regular basis, and that after a while he begins to take them for granted and stops being polite altogether - [[Fridge Brilliance|thus his problems with Eli, Jimmy and even Margaret]].
* [[Only Known
* [[Parental Substitute]]: First to Jimmy and later to Margaret's children.
* [[Promotion to Parent]]: {{spoiler|In "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", when he asks Teddy to call him "Dad", and in "Georgia Peaches", when Teddy casually does
* [[Redemption Rejection]]: Just a few scenes after
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections]]: Usually, Nucky is the connection that people call on to get out of trouble. However, when he gets into legal trouble himself, he is not shy calling up his connections in the White House and later, New York, to get out of it.
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]: This has become something of a personal philosophy as a result of all of his experience with corrupt pols and the benefits of graft. It's also probably Nucky's [[Fatal Flaw]], as he's very prone to throwing money at friends and loved ones in circumstances where he should be taking an active emotional interest.
* [[Sleazy Politician]]
* [[Thicker Than Water]]: Proves that Eli means more to him than
* [[This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself]]:
* [[The Unfavorite]]: His father constantly expresses scorn toward him, yet secretly feels that he's the only son who can handle himself.
* [[Villain Protagonist]]
* [[Wicked Cultured]]
* [[
[[File:Pitt-as-Jimmy-Darmody_7416.jpg|frame|"I'm nothing but a murderer. I'm going to Hell."]]
Smart and resourceful, Jimmy was the product of a relationship between his teenage mother and {{spoiler|the Commodore}}. He was more or less raised by Nucky, who pressured him to pursue an education in Princeton, during which he also met his fiancée and later wife, Angela. However, he abandoned all of them to join the army during [[World War
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Abusive Parents]]: The more is known about his relationship with Gillian, the more that it looks like an evident case of this.
* [[Affably Evil]]: He's an intellectual who is a good friend and tries to be a good father and husband, but he's also a cold-blooded killer.
* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parents|Amazingly Embarrassing Mother]]: Oh boy.
* [[Badass in a Nice Suit]]
* [[Berserk Button]]: People lying about military service/expressing "chickenhawk" attitudes seems to be this for him.
** Never make lewd comments about Jimmy's mom. Don't assault her, either. In fact, just be very polite to her in his presence.
* [[Blood Brothers]]: With Richard Harrow.
{{quote|
'''Jimmy''': Down to the last bullet.
* [[The Chains of Commanding]]: In Season 2.
* [[Clothes Make the Legend]]: His blue suit, a gift from [[Al Capone]].
* [[Daddy Issues]]:
{{quote|
'''Jimmy''': Which one?
* [[Dark and Troubled Past]]: And not just [[World War
* [[The Dead Have Names]]
* {{spoiler|[[Decoy Protagonist]]}}
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Don't hit him. ''You'll regret it''.
*
*
* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Nucky and Angela remind him constantly that he has brains to be something better than a gangster, but he won't listen.
* [[The Gump]]: He's a completely fictional character who has an important role in the development of organized crime in America.
* [[Guns Akimbo]]: In "The Age of Reason".
* {{spoiler|[[Hazy Feel Turn]]}}
* [[Hookers and Blow]]: Pushed [[Up to Eleven]] in "Under God's Power She Flourishes". {{spoiler|When the hooker part is played by ''[[Parental Incest|your mother]]'', you really have gone off the deep end}}.
* [[Hot-Blooded]]: A bit of a hothead since the beginning, but gets more and more so as the series goes on.
* [[Hot Dad]]
* [[Hypocrite]]: Probably because of [[Deliberate Values Dissonance|the attitudes of the time]], he has no problem cheating on Angela while he is away and even considers abandoning his family altogether and moving to California
* [[It's Personal]]:
* [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]]
* [[Kick the Son of
*
* [[Mommy Issues]]: Probably the understatement of the century.
* [[Mugging the Monster]]: He is the "victim" of one in "Ourselves Alone", and it ends exactly like you'd expect.
Line 97 ⟶ 96:
* [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]: Pretty much any time a fight devolves into physical violence. Once he lays out the first punch, he just can't stop himself.
* [[Oedipus Complex]]: He and Gillian are ''very'' close, and he only wants to take out his adopted father, Nucky, because Gillian insists he do so.
** Played up during "Under God's Power She Flourishes" when we flashback to Jimmy's time at Princeton to see that {{spoiler|he and Gillian once had a drunken night of sex}} which drove Jimmy to join the army. The present day storyline of the same episode has
*
* [[Punch Clock Villain]]
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Blue, to [[Al Capone]]'s Red.
** He's becoming the Red to Richard Harrow's Blue.
* [[Returning War Vet]]
*
*
* [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]]
* [[Slashed Throat]]: Does wonders with a combat knife.
* [[Son of a Whore]]
* [[The Starscream]]: {{spoiler|To Nucky, and later the Commodore (arguably)}}.
* [[Start of Darkness]]: The second season episode "Under God's Power She Flourishes" flashes back to his time at Princeton {{spoiler|culminating in an incestuous experience with his mother}}, which lead him to join the army.
* [[The Strategist]]: To Torrio in Season 1. He tries to be one for Nucky, but Nucky's actually a better planner than Jimmy is.
*
* [[Villainous BSOD]]: Hits this ''three times'' in "Under God's Power She Flourishes". First, he hits it in flashback, {{spoiler|he was thrown out of Princeton, slept with his mother, and joined the army}}, then hits it after being informed of {{spoiler|Angela's death}} in the present day, then again {{spoiler|after attacking his mother and killing his father}}.
* [[Villain Protagonist]]
[[File:Margaret-Schroeder_4680.jpg|frame|"Is this to be our life?!"]]
A poor, young Irish mother of two and (thanks to Nucky) widow. She is initially aided by Nucky only out of pity, but they fall in love with each other and begin a relationship as the series progresses. Margaret begins a luxury life as a kept woman and is probably Nucky's closest emotional connection. Played by [[Kelly Macdonald]].
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Nucky is an obvious improvement over Hans, but he's still a mob boss.
* [[Armor-Piercing Slap]]
* [[Betty and Veronica|Betty]]: To Lucy's Veronica.
Line 133 ⟶ 132:
* [[Everything Sounds Sexier in French]]: Nucky prefers her to keep her speech Irish-accented and free of Americanisms.
* [[Face Heel Turn]]: Her awesome moment in "Ourselves Alone" probably qualifies as this.
* [[Hot Mom]]
* [[Hypocrite]]: An [[Flanderization|increasingly]] prominent aspect of Margaret, what with her disapproving almost everything Nucky does, but being fine with paying the Church (with his money) as an easy way out of her own sins.
* [[It's All My Fault]]
* [[Lady Macbeth]]: Seems to be going in this direction in "Ourselves Alone", but by "Two Boats and a Lifeguard" (after Nucky {{spoiler|is shot}}), pleads with him to leave the gangster life.
* [[Lie Back and Think of England]]: While still attached to Nucky, she loses interest in having sex with him as
* [[Morality Pet]]: She and her children are this to Nucky.
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Saves the day using this in "Ourselves Alone".
* [[Overly Long Name]]
* [[Precision F-Strike]] and [[Country Matters|C Strike]]: Margaret generally never swears, which makes the moments she does significant, as Lucy finds out.
* [[Rags to Riches]]
* [[Raised Catholic]]
* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: To Lucy, in two different occasions.
* [[Silk Hiding Steel]]: A morally ambiguous example.
Line 150 ⟶ 148:
* [[The Teetotaler]]: Begins the series as one, but abandons it as she is corrupted by the good life.
* [[Token Wholesome]]
* [[Took a Level
* [[Took a Level
*
== Other Fictional Characters ==
[[File:Eli_Thompson_2952.jpg|frame|"What am I? The repudiated?"]]
The corrupt sheriff of Atlantic County and Nucky's younger brother. Through the series he develops an increasing desire for recognition which he feels denied because everyone else only sees him as Nucky's muscle, and that eventually leads him to
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Annoying Younger Sibling]]: To Nucky.
* [[Bad Boss]]
Line 168 ⟶ 166:
* [[Dirty Cop]]
* [[Dirty Coward]]: Turns tail at the first sign of trouble.
{{quote|
'''Nucky''': And you're a frightened little boy with no place else to go.
* [[The Dutiful Son]]: Cares for his aged father and generally does whatever his brother says.
* [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones]]: He is devoted to his father and children.
*
**
**
* [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]: Sometimes comes across as this because of how desperate he is for respect and often out of his depth. On the other hand, he's also frequently a reprehensible brute.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: {{spoiler|Advocates Nucky's murder}} in
* [[Kick the Dog]]: Most prominent in Season 2, where almost, if not every time he does something nice is immediately followed by him doing something terrible.
* [[Malaproper]]
* [[Officer O'Hara]]: Doesn't have the stereotypical accent, but he is Irish-American.
* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: Unlike Nucky, he is pretty racist and frequently uses ethnic slurs, and by his commentary in one scene where he advises Nucky on how to deal with Margaret, it's implied that he beats his wife.
* [[Stating the Simple Solution]]: Tells Jimmy to [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|simply shoot]]
* [[Ten
* [[Thicker Than Water]]: Nucky certainly proves so in "To the Lost".
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Eli realizes that his father, while seeming to favor him, doesn't have any respect for his intelligence. His relationship with Nucky also sours because of Nucky's lack of respect for him.
* [[You Have Failed Me...]]: He has
* [[You Never Did That for Me]]: In
[[File:Gillian-Darmody_8894.jpg|frame|"You know me. There is always a man."]]
Jimmy's surprisingly-young showgirl mother to whom he is a bit too close. While certainly an unconventional parent, she'll do everything for her son's well being. Played by Gretchen Mol.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Absurdly Youthful Mother]]: She was impregnated at 13.
* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parents|Amazingly Embarrassing Mother]]: To Jimmy.
* [[Best Served Cold]]: She waited a long time to get revenge on
* [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing]]: Underneath a polite and vivacious surface, she's extremely warped and calculating.
* [[Broken Bird]]
* [[Christmas Cake]]: Jimmy comments that she tried at least once, but never got married.
* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]: The scene in
* [[Evil Matriarch]]: Definitely slipping into this by the end of Season 2.
* [[Femme Fatale]]: Could have cost Luciano too much if he wasn't "Lucky" Luciano.
* [[Hot Mom]]: And Jimmy's son Tommy qualifies her as a [[Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!|Hot Grandma]] too.
* [[Kick the Dog]]: One after another in "Under God's Power She Flourishes", all the way to the [[Moral Event Horizon]] and beyond.
* [[Lady Macbeth]]: She becomes this for
* [[May-December Romance]]:
** Has another one, [[Mrs. Robinson|with the age-difference reversed]], with Lucky Luciano.
* [[Mrs. Robinson]]
* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: The second most frequent source of nudity in the series, after Lucy.
* [[My Beloved Smother]]: To Jimmy.
* [[Parental Incest]]: As
* [[Playing Gertrude]]: Gretchen Mol is only 9 years older than Michael Pitt. Justified by the character's background.
* [[Promoted to Opening Credits]]: In Season 2.
* [[Pretty in Mink]]: When she has something on, it's usually furry.
* [[Rape
* [[Really Gets Around]]
* [[Single Mom Stripper]]
Line 221 ⟶ 219:
* [[Teen Pregnancy]]: In her [[Backstory]].
[[File:Chalky-White_3216.jpg|frame|"Dis here ma Daddy tools."]]
Nucky's political connection to and equivalent in Atlantic City's black community, and also partner in the bootlegging business. He often makes clear how much Nucky owes him and he treats Nucky as an equal rather than his superior. Played by Michael K. Williams.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Advertised Extra]]: He was deliberately kept at a minimum in the first season, often chaining one [[One-Scene Wonder]] after another. His role was later expanded after he had proven to be popular with the audience.
* [[Affably Evil]]
* [[Anti-Villain]]: He's a gangster in order to help his community and is very protective of his employees. He's also revealed in season two to be a loving husband and father, and given the era, it's clear that his upper class life wouldn't be reachable within the law.
* [[Badass in
* [[Berserk Button]]: Looks like a [[Bad Boss]] at first, but touch any of his workers, I dare you!
* [[Breakout Character]]: When you compare his role in the pilot to his role in late season one and season two, you can tell his plot relevance has increased exponentially.
Line 241 ⟶ 239:
** Overlaps with [[Ironic Name]], as in addition to his nickname, the name Albert also means white.
* [[Jive Turkey]]: ''[[Shown Their Work|1920s]]'' Jive Turkey.
* [[Never Learned to Read]]: The second episode of the second season all but says this outright. He doesn't even seem to know that the book his son's given him isn't
* [[Nouveau Riche]]: A major part of his character. Chalky is an uneducated, self-made man from a humble background. He has married an educated, light-skinned trophy wife from a wealthier background who gives their children classical educations. He's an outsider in his own family.
* [[Only Known
* [[Pay Evil Unto Evil]]: His carpenter father was killed by white supremacists, and now he uses his father's tools ''on them''.
* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]:
Line 254 ⟶ 252:
* [[Tranquil Fury]]: Whether it's shooting back at a Klansman or strangling a bad-mouthed gangster, he's not going to lose his cool.
[[File:Richard-Harrow_8913.jpg|frame|"How does it feel to have everything?"]]
A shy, socially stunted former [[World War
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: He's a sensitive and polite young man who is really likable. On the other hand, his suggested strategy for drawing out an enemy was to kill their innocent family members and associates.
* {{spoiler|[[Ate His Gun]]}}: In "Gimcrack & Bunkum". {{spoiler|[[Interrupted Suicide|He gets better]]}}.
* [[Blood Brothers]]: With Jimmy.
* [[Breakout Character]]: Like Chalky White, his popularity in the first season made him quickly promoted to a series regular.
* [[Can Not Tell a Lie]]: In his first scene, he claims not to be able to lie. Jimmy gets him to tell a small lie to the hospital staff, and a friendship is born.
* [[Cleanup Crew]]: Twice in "Under God's Power She Flourishes". There's a straightforward instance at the end of the episode when Jimmy wakes up to see Richard
* [[Cold Sniper]]
* [[The Conscience]]: The one guy out of the Young Turks who will be completely honest with Jimmy, as well as question why Jimmy wants to do something.
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: In "Gimcrack
* [[The Dragon]]: To Jimmy.
*
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: While
* [[Eye Scream]]
* [[The Grotesque]]: A very sympathetic version who you want to hug (at least when he's not killing people).
* [[Guttural Growler]]
* [[Handicapped Badass]]
* [[Hitman
* [[I Just Want to Be Normal]]
* [[It Gets Easier]]
* [[Kick the Dog]]: "I could kill their mother. The sisters. And the dentist. That would make [the D'Alessios] stick their heads up
* [[A Man Is Not a Virgin]]: Averted. The first thing Jimmy does for him is get him laid, though.
* [[Morality Pet]]: To Jimmy.
* [[Ominous Walk]]: Tends toward these when "working".
* [[Promoted to Opening Titles]]
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Blue to Sleater's Red. Blue to Jimmy's Red, too.
* [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]]: To the point where he's so desensitized to violence that he has no qualms about becoming a contract killer.
* [[The Stoic]]
* [[Two-Faced]]: Literally, and metaphorically.
* [[Undying Loyalty]]: To Jimmy.
* [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]
[[File:eddie-kessler_1800.jpg|frame|"Mister Thompson is a very nice man."]]
Nucky's bumbling and put-upon German butler who is extremely loyal to him. Played by Anthony Laciura.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Acceptable Ethnic Targets]]: In-universe. He has the misfortune of being German in a country that just fought in World War I.
* [[Battle Butler]]: [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Surprisingly]].
Line 307 ⟶ 301:
* [[The Cast Showoff]]: Besides being an actor, Anthony Laciura is a voice instructor and opera singer. He displays his talent in "What Does the Bee Do?".
* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: He saves Nucky from an assassination attempt, takes the gun from the shooter and shoots him in the back.
* [[The Driver]]: Doubles as Nucky's
* [[Funny Foreigner]]
* [[The Funny Guy]]
Line 316 ⟶ 309:
* [[Kavorka Man]]: No less surprisingly.
* [[Servile Snarker]]: A hilarious blink-and-you'll-miss-it comment in "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", to a soldier making anti-German comments:
{{quote|
* [[Undying Loyalty]]: When he is concerned, Nucky is ''always'' innocent and ''always'' means well.
[[File:agent-van-alden_1319.jpg|frame|"This is a godly pursuit."]]
One of the primary antagonists, an overzealous Prohibition agent who vows to bring down Nucky. As stoic and ruthless in his private life as he is in his professional life, he and his wife are extremely Christian and trying to have children. Secretly lusts after Margaret Schroeder, but finds himself disgusted when she sets up house with Nucky. May possibly
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Abusive Parents]]: Or at least fanatical ones that were the source of his preoccupations. In "A Dangerous Maid", he reveals total ignorance about the concept of
** Reveals in "Under God's Power She Flourishes" that his parents were followers of a fanatical reverend who believed in the Rapture. His father sold (or just "gave away") their farm and they lived penniless for two years, waiting for a Rapture that did not come. Apparently, his father somehow blames Nelson for all of this.
* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: ''Something'' seems to be wrong with him, given his excessive stoicism.
* [[And Call Him George]]:
* [[Armor-Piercing Slap]]
* [[Bad Boss]]
* [[Chew Toy]]: Nothing goes right for him. Ever.
Line 339 ⟶ 331:
* [[Family Values Villain]]
* [[The Fundamentalist]]
* [[Give Me a Sign]]: At the end of the first season, he decides to leave Atlantic City unless God gives him a sign.
* [[Good People Have Good Sex]]: Inverted. Van Alden is shown to be sexually repressed, which is the cause of some of his corruption. He has a stiff relationship with his bland wife and has to go through some pretty extraordinary lengths to get them both in the mood.
* [[Hair-Trigger Temper]]: His hot-bloodedness frequently contrasts to Nucky and Rothstein's more cool, collected natures.
* [[Hero Antagonist]]: Briefly, although he soon becomes just a [[Knight Templar]].
* [[Holier Than Thou]]
* [[Hookers and Blow|Hookers and Booze]]:
* [[Jerkass]]
* [[Karma Houdini]]: Two victims and counting...
** Averted in "Under God’s Power She Flourishes" when his karma catches up to him
** [[Zig Zagged Trope|Or not]], seeing how
* [[Kick the Dog]]: In the third episode, he tortures a wounded witness to death to get information and it mostly goes downhill from there.
* [[Knight Templar]]
* [[Oh Crap]]: Michael Shannon turns these into a form of art, but the golden award goes to the scene where Van Alden
* [[Pet the Dog]]: He's somewhat humanized in "A Dangerous Maid" and does something nice for
** The scene where he first
* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: Is shown to have some pretty racist attitudes towards Jews, and refers to Nucky's black supporters as "darkies". Plus, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|he considers Chinese food "filth" without even tasting it]].
* [[Sex Is Evil and I Am Horny]]
* [[Stalker
* [[Surrounded
* [[Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist]]
* [[A Taste of the Lash]]: His back is completely scarred because he whips himself when he has impure thoughts.
* [[The Un-Smile]]: Done when he tries to "seduce" Margaret.
* [[You Can't Go Home Again]]:
[[File:commodore-coleman_7925.jpg|frame|"Look around, boy. I didn't get any of this by being stupid."]]
Nucky's mentor and predecessor as city boss before being imprisoned as part of a PR campaign by [[Woodrow Wilson]] in the 1910s.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
*
* [[Badass Grandpa]]: After he recovers from his illness, he exercises to the point of being able to lift a heavy elephant tusk over his head.
**
* [[Call It Karma]]:
* [[The Collector of the Strange]]: Live and stuffed animals, weapons, Asian statues...
* [[Dirty Old Man]]:
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Want to know his real name? [[All There in the Manual|Check the HBO website]]. Nucky, Eli, Gillian, and Damian occasionally call him "Lou", though it's very rare.
* [[Evil Mentor]]: To Nucky
* [[Evil Old Folks]]
* [[Expository Hairstyle Change]]: He stops shaving and combing his hair as he gets sicker in
* [[Foreshadowing]]:
* [[Great White Hunter]]: Was one when he was younger.
* [[Grumpy Old Man]]
* [[He-Man Woman Hater]]
* {{spoiler|[[Impaled
* [[Jerkass]]: In the first season, he's unpleasant to pretty much everyone, and is one of the most bigoted characters in the show. It does seem that this had something to do with his illness, since when he's recovered in the second season, while not a better person, he's rather avuncular.
* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]: By Jimmy, no less
* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Ironically, some of the people he wins to his side are convinced by his claim that
* [[Nice to
** Strangely,
* [[Perfect Poison]]:
* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: He's a vocal misogynist and white supremacist.
*
* [[Right-Hand-Cat]]: Averted with Jerry, his little pet dog.
* [[The Scrooge]]:
* [[Sir Swearsalot]]: He is probably the worst in a very bad mouthed cast. This could be due to [[Not Himself|his illness]], [[Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!|his age]], or most likely because [[Jerkass|he was always that way]].
* [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?]]: He doesn't want {{spoiler|Nucky}} killed, {{spoiler|but to go to jail like he did}}.
[[File:Lucy-Danziger_5027.jpg|frame|"What's your name, handsome?"]]
A former [[wikipedia:Ziegfeld Follies|Ziegfeld Follies]] [[All There in the Manual|dancer]], she is Nucky's lover at the beginning of the series but is
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Black Bra and Panties|Black]] [[Lingerie Scene]]: She's either particularly attached to her last purchase with Nucky's money, or it is the only thing she still can fit in while in her third trimester.
* [[Bottle Fairy]]
* [[Brainless Beauty]]: Sometimes bordering [[Adult Child]].
* [[Character Development]]: Quite a bit in
* [[Dark Mistress]]
* [[Fluffy Fashion Feathers]]
Line 411 ⟶ 403:
* [[Jumping Out of a Cake]]: In "Anastasia", for Nucky's birthday.
* [[Law of Inverse Fertility]]
* [[The Mistress]]:
* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: By far the most frequent source of nudity in the series. It's harder to find an episode where she doesn't show something.
* [[Pretty in Mink]]: Has a giant fox-fur coat.
* [[Put
* [[Really Gets Around]]
* [[Riches to Rags]]
Line 422 ⟶ 414:
* [[Woman Scorned]]: To Margaret, but not Nucky.
[[File:Angela-Darmody_7524.jpg|frame|"At least we're finally being honest with each other."]]
Jimmy's wife and the mother of his son, Angela finds herself torn in many ways. She loves Jimmy, but his extensive trips away lead her to cheat on him with a female painter. She loves her son, but frequently has tension with Gillian, who lives with them. Played by Aleksa Palladino.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Acceptable Feminine Goals]]: Painting isn't one of them; both Jimmy and Gillian discourage her talent and urge her to pay more attention to taking care of Tommy.
* [[An Offer You Can't Refuse]]: After her attempt to leave Jimmy at the end of
* [[Bi the Way]]
* [[Break the Cutie]]: The downward spiral of her relationships with Jimmy and Mary. Evolves into {{spoiler|[[Kill the Cutie]]}} later.
*
* [[Good Adultery, Bad Adultery|Good Adultery]]: In her defense, Jimmy did not bother to write even once while he was in the most destructive war seen by the world up to that point, and he's still an occasional jerk after his return. He is also an adulterer although she doesn't know it.
* [[Gratuitous Italian]]: Speaks it in "A Dangerous Maid" with Al.
Line 443 ⟶ 433:
* {{spoiler|[[Kill the Cutie]]}}
* [[The Pollyanna]]
* [[The Quiet One]]: On account of her rather depressing situation.
* {{spoiler|[[Sacrificial Lion]]}}
* [[Shallow Love Interest]]: Her "friend" Mary has been accused of this.
* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: When Jimmy basically forces himself on her after returning from Chicago.
* {{spoiler|[[Stuffed Into the Fridge]]: Murdered by Manny to get back at Jimmy}}.
** Doubles as {{spoiler|[[
* [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]]: She prefers to concentrate on her artistic career rather than seeking a job while Jimmy is away. Later, she accepts fleeing to Paris as soon as Mary proposes it, and she still retains a soft spot for her just because Mary sent her a postcard a month after dumping her in the last minute.
* [[Woman in White]]: Fittingly enough, she wears a white dress throughout "Under God's Power She Flourishes", {{spoiler|after she dies in "Georgia Peaches". Her last appearance is a flashback}}.
* [[Women Are Wiser]]: More so in Season Two than Season One, though she's still the one to worry about the practicality of things.
===Michael "Mickey Doyle" Kozik===
[[File:mickey-doyle_7028.jpg|frame|"You wanna dance, you pay the piper."<ref>[[Annoying Laugh|Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]]</ref>]]
A [[Jerkass|highly unlikable]] bootlegger who is [[Fake Irish|not actually Irish]], but gives himself an Irish name because "it sounds better". Yes, the other characters also roll their eyes when they meet him. He is also a rival to Chalky. Played by Paul Sparks.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Annoying Laugh]]: Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...
* [[Butt Monkey]]
* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: To be fair, the people he betrays have all done him wrong and/or threatened his life. He is simply a tad quicker slipping the knife in their back.
* [[Dirty Coward]]
* [[Fake Irish]]: In
* [[Harmless Villain]]: Only directly.
* [[The Hyena]]: In every scene he appears in, he's always laughing in an annoying way.
Line 469 ⟶ 459:
** A season later, Jimmy dishes up a little payback, but it's because Mickey pissed him off, not over Nucky. Even this proves to be a blessing in disguise since Mickey used his injuries to prove that he wasn't a willing ally of Jimmy. This saved him from being killed by Manny Horvitz.
** And then Lucky and Lansky use the life insurance policy he signed for Rothstein during the D'Alessios incident to cheat him into giving away his part of their shared business in Season 2. [[Call It Karma]], indeed.
** Not that the life insurance has stopped him - in "To the Lost", he turns around and sets up a meet between Nucky and Manny Horvitz, which facilitates
* [[Kick the Son of
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: While he often seems [[Too Dumb to Live]], he's smarter than he looks and continues to live and succeed due to his amazing talent for backstabbing his associates at the right time.
*
* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: He is regularly the intended target of this trope and barely manages to avert it each time. People are just not interested in having him around once he is no longer useful.
[[File:Owen-Slater_6786.jpg|frame|"What's the sense in doing something half wrong?"]]
A former bodyguard for a [[The Irish Question|Sinn Féin]] politician named John McGarrigle who decides to stay in America and work for Nucky rather than go back to Ireland. He used to work as an enforcer for the IRA. Played by Charlie Cox.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: He's a cheeky, likable guy whose back story (as discussed in [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/the-new-kid-in-town-charlie-cox-on-boardwalk-empire/ this interview]) is that he was a member of some fairly ruthless IRA partisans and is in America because he's wanted in Ireland for his involvement in the [[wikipedia:Bloody Sunday
* [[Badass]]
* [[The Casanova]]: He admits that he has a history of entering houses [[Romeo and Juliet|through the balcony]] and loses interest in Katy altogether after he gets in her bed.
* [[The Driver]]: Becomes one for Nucky in Season 2.
* [[Expy]]: Seems to be one for Furio of ''[[The Sopranos]]''. Both are from "the old country" and are sent to aid the ethnic-American gangsters, and are characterized by being likable [[Mr. Fanservice]] but also [[Ruthless Foreign Gangsters|more ruthless than their American counterparts]]. That Margaret seems to have some [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] with him is not a good sign.
* [[Genre Savvy]]: It does not take him long to figure out what the situation in Atlantic City is and how to make himself useful to Nucky. He also immediately identifies Harrow as a former soldier during their first confrontation and points a gun at him rather than trying to lay a punch.
* [[The Irish Question]]
* [[Mad Bomber]]: Revealed to be one in "What Does
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Red to Harrow's Blue.
* [[Replacement Goldfish]]: In-universe. "To the Lost" has Owen and Jimmy commenting on how he's taken over for Jimmy.
* [[Western Terrorists]]
* [[Worthy Opponent]]: Recognizes Richard Harrow as one and is likewise recognized by Richard as this.
* [[You Can't Go Home Again]]: Well, he ''could'', but it's implied he's a wanted criminal there. When he is later given a choice to return to Ireland, he declines and says that America is his home now. He can spot the growing schism in the IRA and does not want to take sides.
===Manny "Munya" Horvitz===
[[File:manny-horvitz_5955.jpg|frame|"We got a deal. But just so we're clear, my icebox is filled with pieces of fellas who tried to fuck me over."]]
A part time kosher butcher, part time capo of Philadelphia's Jewish quarter who has a personal feud with local gangster Waxey Gordon. He becomes Jimmy's partner in crime after Mickey Doyle introduces them to each other in
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Badass Grandpa]]
* [[Bait the Dog]]: He initially comes across as a likable [[Alter Kocker]] who loves jokes and is an "old school" man of honor, and then he begins to talk about stuffing the pieces of the guys that cross him in his fridge...
* [[The Butcher]]: Both literally and figuratively.
* [[Determinator]]: In "Battle of the Century"
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Do ''not'' betray him. EVER.
* [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones]]: If we believe him, he's pretty deferential to [[The Ghost|his wife]].
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: He's a ''kosher'' butcher... he won't kill an already-injured man in the same freezer as his meats.
** Also [[Shown Their Work|in line with Kashrut standards]], when he sees the Commodore's hunting trophies he shows immense disapproval of killing animals purely for sport/status.
* [[Faux Affably Evil]]
* [[Holier Than Thou]]: "What? We all have to live by (some) rules..."
* [[Hot-Blooded]]
* [[Kick the Son of
* [[Murder Is the Best Solution]]: Played seriously. Jimmy tries to restrain him at one point, telling him that "You can't kill everyone."
* [[Only Known
* [[The Rival]]: To Waxey Gordon.
* [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules]]: In an evil version of this, after an attempt is made on his life, he considers no amount of blood money sufficient to stop him from taking revenge.
* [[We Have Ways of Making You Talk]]
* [[Yiddish
* [[You Kill It, You Bought It]]: While he dislikes killing for sport he is even more offended when someone claims the kill of another man. He believes that the only way for Jimmy to really take over Atlantic City is for Jimmy to personally kill Nucky. He
== Minor Fictional Characters ==
[[File:agent-sebso_3818.jpg|frame|"You can trust me, goddamit!"]]
Van Alden's Jewish partner at the beginning of the series and [[The Mole]] in the Prohibition Unit for Nucky.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: While he's corrupt and on the take, he's a rather likable guy and is presented much more sympathetically than Van Alden.
* [[And Call Him George]]:
* [[Beleaguered Assistant]]: With a twist - Van Alden is crazy, but he is really more efficient than Sebso.
* [[Bumbling Sidekick]]: As part of [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].
* [[Dirty Cop]]
* [[Face Heel Turn]]
* [[Informed Judaism]]: He is completely secular and at first his heritage seems to bear no relevance to the plot other than making him a [[Yiddish
* [[Last-Name Basis]]: His first name isn't even revealed until
* {{spoiler|[[Mauve Shirt]]}}
* [[The Mole]]
* [[Preemptive Declaration]]: Uses this before
* [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit]]: After {{spoiler|killing a witness under orders of Nucky}}, he hits himself in the head with a rock to make it look like he was attacked.
* [[Yiddish
===Hans Schroeder===
[[File:hans-schroeder_4367.png|frame|"You sit down or you'll get the belt!"]]
Margaret's abusive husband, an unemployed baker assistant with a gambling addiction. He is killed under orders of Nucky at the end of the pilot and used to pin the Woods Massacre on. Played by Joe Sikora.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Acceptable Ethnic Targets]]: In-universe. His German heritage makes him an easy scapegoat in post-[[World War
* [[Asshole Victim]]
* [[Deceased Fall Guy Gambit]]: With him as the fall guy.
* [[Domestic Abuser]]: Beats Margaret
* [[The Gambling Addict]]
* [[Karmic Death]]:
* [[Pay Evil Unto Evil]]: His death ain't precisely pretty.
* [[Sacrificial Lamb]]: You don't actually expect Nucky to whack him in the pilot.
{{break}}
[[File:pearl-boardwalkempire_3008.jpg|frame|"Who is going to love me now?"]]
A 18
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Break the Cutie]]
* {{spoiler|[[Death
* {{spoiler|[[Driven to Suicide]]}}
* {{spoiler|[[Facial Horror]]}}
* [[Fan Service]]: She's topless in her first appearance.
** [[Fan Disservice]]: {{spoiler|The scene where she, high on opium, tries to go back to work while sporting a huge scar across her face
* [[Functional Addict]]: She is addicted to opium.
* [[Hooker
* [[The Mistress]]: To Jimmy.
* {{spoiler|[[Stuffed Into the Fridge]]}}
{{break}}
[[File:Nuckys-Father_5657.jpg|frame|"Look who's here: the big shot."]]
Nucky and Eli's old and progressively more senile father. He was abusive to the first and protective of the second during their childhood, and still remains more attached to Eli in the modern day - in part, however, because he knew that the more intelligent Nucky was more capable of making his way into life. Played by Tom Aldredge in his last role.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Crazy Cat Lady|Crazy Cat Guy]]: In his old age.
* [[Domestic Abuser]]: To Nucky and Eli.
* [[Grumpy Old Man]]
*
* [[Jerkass]]
*
* [[Loners Are Freaks]]: He lives alone in what was once the family home, in the middle of nowhere.
*
* [[Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!]]: Or as he puts it: "Ah, what do I give a shit?"
* [[Shown Their Work]]: "Ethan"'s popularity as a baby name was nonexistent from the 1880s-about 1970 and spiked in the '80s to a peak around 2000. Therefore it just doesn't conjure up an old man in [[The New Tens|viewers' minds]], however it might've in [[The Roaring Twenties]].
A violent gang [[Siblings in Crime|formed by six out of nine brothers]] from Philadelphia (not counting sisters). They are brought to Atlantic City as associates of Mickey Doyle's bootlegging business and lead to conflict with Nucky after Doyle is arrested and Nucky gives his business to Chalky.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by these characters include:}}
* [[Big Bad]]: Leo, the eldest brother. Played by Max Casella.
* [[Boom! Headshot!]]:
* [[The Brute]]: Teo, the third brother, [[Mundane Utility|who also cuts their hair]]. Played by Al Linea.
* [[Deceased Fall Guy Gambit]]:
* [[The Dragon]]: Ignatius, the second brother. Played by Edoardo Ballerini.
* [[The Driver]]: Apparently Pius, despite [[Troubling Unchildlike Behavior|being 14 at most]].
Line 611 ⟶ 593:
* [[Ruthless Foreign Gangsters|Ruthless Out-of-State Gangsters]]
* [[Siblings in Crime]]
* [[Slashed Throat]]:
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Lucien, the fourth brother,
* [[White Sheep]]: There is apparently one adult brother in Philly, Adrian, that did not pursue a criminal career, and instead became a dentist.
[[File:isabelle-jeunet_small_502.jpg|frame|"Do you bathe?"]]
The French owner of the haute couture dress shop ''La Belle Femme'', set next to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Nucky forces her to fire her long time assistant and give the job to Margaret in order to help her, and she doesn't take it well at all (nor makes any attempt to hide it). Played by Anna Katarina.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Bad Boss]]: To Margaret, and after she leaves, to her replacement.
* [[French Jerk]]
* [[Grande Dame]]
* [[Gratuitous French]]
* [[Hoist
* [[Last-Name Basis]]: She makes Margaret call her ''Madame'' Jeunet. Nucky is amused when he founds out because to him she is just "Isabelle".
* [[Old Maid]]: She is "a woman alone".
* [[This Is My Name
{{break}}
===Annabelle===
[[File:annabelle-BE_4670.png|frame|"Us girls all help each other here. You know, the concubines."]]
A long-time mistress for rich men, she becomes Margaret's neighbor and sort of friend after she accepts to move to a mansion paid by Nucky. Played by Megan Reinking.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[False Friend]]: She ceases all contact with Lucy after she's thrown out and only hangs out with Margaret because she's with Nucky now, showing she holds friends in the same esteem as boyfriends.
* [[Five-Finger Discount]]: She has amassed almost $4000 by stealing whatever is in Harry's pocket when he is sleeping. Unfortunately for her, he discovers her stash and invests it in the [[Trope Maker|original]] [[Ponzi]] scheme.
* [[Gold Digger]]: It doesn't take her long to find a new sugar daddy after breaking up with the previous one.
* [[The Mistress]]: For Harry, Nucky's overweight friend.
* [[Pink Haired Girl]]: She loves wigs.
* [[Single Mom Stripper]]
[[File:Rose-Van-Alden_8690.png|frame|"I want to give you a son, Nelson."]]
Agent Van Alden's very proper, very Christian wife. She wants to be a good woman and [[Law of Inverse Fertility|desires a child more than anything in the world]]. She also worships the ground her husband walks on, at least for now. Played by Enid Graham.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[All Women Are Prudes]]: She dresses conservatively and only has sex with the lights off.
* [[The Dog Bites Back]]: Rose is ''not'' okay with Nelson {{spoiler|getting Lucy pregnant and intending to keep her baby and pass it off as theirs}}, no matter how desperately she wants a child. She {{spoiler|slaps and bites him in a confrontation after Abigail's birth, and two episodes later, serves Nelson with divorce papers}}.
* [[Extreme Doormat]]
* [[The Fundamentalist]]
* [[Law of Inverse Fertility]]
* [[Women Are Wiser]]: Though a conservative Christian, she has the common sense to put her beliefs aside when the situation requires. She considers surgery in order to cure her sterility and {{spoiler|she takes care of Lucy right after she gives birth instead of trying to blame her for her husband's infidelity}}. She also has an easier time displaying her emotions and showing preoccupation for her husband's well being, in contrast to her spouse's icy demeanor.
{{break}}
[[File:Lenore-White_1595.jpg|frame|"Albert, you have a family waiting that loves you."]]
Chalky's wife, a highly-educated and well-spoken woman. She tries her best to "civilize" him and further the educations of their three children. Played by Natalie Wachen.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Apron Matron]]
* [[But Not Too Black]]: In the language of the times, she's referred to as "high-yellow".
* [[Education Mama]]
* [[Grande Dame]]: Chalky is no [[Henpecked Husband]], though.
Line 670 ⟶ 649:
* [[Pass Fail]]: She wants to be seen by people (especially eligible suitors for her daughter) as upper-class, to the point of refusing to serve Hoppin' John at dinner because it is "not fit for company". Chalky really doesn't take her pretension well.
* [[Proper Lady]]
* [[Women Are Wiser]]
{{break}}
[[File:10228610-large_8579.jpg|frame|"I can make your life very difficult, Mr. Neary. In fact, I might enjoy it."]]
The current Assistant US Attorney prosecuting Nucky for election rigging. Unlike her predecessor, who was on the take, she represents a challenge to Nucky because of her
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Brainy Brunette]]
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]
Line 689 ⟶ 669:
* [[Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist]]
[[File:halloran1_3978.jpg|frame|"You killed [[Mary Pickford]]?"]]
Eli's trusted, big, and dumb as a brick [[Number Two]] in the AC Police Department. Played by Adam Mucci.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[The Brute]]
* [[Butt Monkey]]
Line 705 ⟶ 683:
* [[Fat Idiot]]
* [[Last-Name Basis]]
* [[Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal]]: {{spoiler|He refuses to give Esther Randolph any information that would incriminate Eli. However, Eli knows he met with her and is afraid that Halloran is being a [[The Stool Pigeon|Stool Pigeon]], so Eli orders a brutal [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]] to be inflicted on Halloran. Within ''seconds'' of realizing that Eli was behind it Halloran starts giving Randolph all the information she needs
* [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]: On the receiving end of one in "Georgia Peaches".
* [[Number Two]]: To Eli.
* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: He is racist and possibly misogynist.
*
* [[Undying Loyalty]]: To Eli again. {{spoiler|Subverted ''big time'' once he realizes that Eli was complicit in his beating for talking to Esther Randolph
===Dunn Purnsley===
[[File:Dunn-Purnsley_3187.png|frame|"What I don't like 'bout you?"]]
A large and intimidating Baltimore criminal that Chalky meets in jail. After being on the receiving end of a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|beat-down]] from Chalky and his men, he becomes Chalky's [[Number Two]]. Played by Eric LaRay Harvey.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Angry Black Man]]: The 1920's version thereof.
* [[Ascended Extra]]: Was supposed to only be in "Ourselves Alone", but the creative team loved his performance so much they brought him back as Chalky's new [[Number Two]].
Line 728 ⟶ 704:
* [[Jive Turkey]]
* [[Large Ham]]: "HOLD DA LIIIIINE!" Among many, many others.
* [[The Mole]]: Planted in the kitchen of the Ritz to
* [[Never Learned to Read]]: The first time they meet, he wants Chalky to admit that he can't either.
* [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]: On the receiving end of one in "Ourselves Alone".
Line 737 ⟶ 713:
== Historical Figures ==
=== Chicago Gangsters ===
====[[Al Capone]]====
[[File:Al_Capone_2_5206.jpg|frame|"[[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|I'm makin' a statement.]]"]]
Introduced as a low-ranking thug, he will soon [[From Nobody to Nightmare|become a notorious crime boss]]. He develops an odd friendship with Jimmy and is Torrio's right-hand man. Played by Stephen Graham.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Brooklyn Rage]]
* [[
* [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones]]: A loving father, husband, and son, but do ''not'' cross Al.
* [[Friendly Enemy]]: With Luciano. He can't seem to resist winding "Sal" up.
* [[Gratuitous Italian]]: Speaks it fluently, being from an old-country family.
* [[Hot-Blooded]]
* [[The Hyena]]
* [[Kick the Dog]]: He speaks very ill of {{spoiler|Angela}} after {{spoiler|she}} dies and casually abandons Jimmy in the
* [[Leeroy Jenkins]]
* [[Morality Pet]]: His deaf son is one for him.
Line 764 ⟶ 734:
** [[Character Development|He's trying to improve on that front.]] To an extent.
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Red, to Jimmy's Blue.
* [[Took a Level
* [[Trigger Happy]]: Al's solution to everything is generally a combination of [[Kill It
* [[Young Future Famous People]]
[[File:johnny-torrio-BE_4974.jpg|frame|"Let's say the whole thing was a series of misunderstandings."]]
The current Italian crime boss of Chicago, he was the [[Number Two]] to Big Jim Colosimo before he made the error of not getting into the illegal alcohol business and was [[Deadly Euphemism|forcibly retired]]. Torrio is, however, far from being ruthless and always tries to use diplomacy first when dealing with other gangsters. Played by Greg Antonacci.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: Easily the nicest mafioso seen in the series.
* [[Benevolent Boss]]: For a mob boss, he's pretty nice to his employees. He treats the girls at the bordello well, and takes Al under his wing.
* [[The Don]]
* [[Dragon Ascendant]]: Is one to Colosimo, and Al also will become his.
* [[Dragon
* [[Equal Opportunity Evil]]: He makes no distinction between Italians and Irish in his gang, and at some point invites Al to respect the Jews and learn from them.
* [[Evil Mentor]]: To Al.
Line 788 ⟶ 756:
* [[Team Switzerland]]: For now, at least. In season one, he spent most of his time mediating between New York (Rothstein and Luciano), Philadelphia (the D'Alessios), and Atlantic City (Nucky). In season two, he seems to be staying out of things entirely, and the Young Turks seem to regard him as less of a threat than Nucky or Rothstein - probably due to Capone's protectiveness.
[[File:Colosimo-BE_2474.png|frame|"You should all come to my restaurant. If you like to eat, you eat. If you don't like to eat... uh-hu-hu."]]
An old style mafioso and mob boss of Chicago till he retired in early 1920 [[Running Joke|on account of a bullet to his head]]. Played by Frank Crudele.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Completely Missing the Point]]: Due to his limited understanding of English.
* [[The Don]]
Line 801 ⟶ 768:
* [[Gratuitous Italian]]
* [[Idiot Ball]]: You should have invested in the alcohol business, Jim.
* [[Plot-Triggering Death]]: Nearly all of the events and violence of the series occur because Colosimo is killed.
* [[Pretty in Mink]]: A rare male example.
* [[Running Joke]]: His 'retirement', to the young gangsters.
* [[Sacrificial Lamb]]: He's set up to be a pretty big deal... and then he gets killed during the ''pilot''.
=== New York City Gangsters ===
====Arnold Rothstein====
[[File:arnold-rothstein_1284.jpg|frame|"Reputation takes a lifetime to build and only seconds to destroy."]]
A high-level Jewish gangster with his fingers in every pie in New York. He rigged the 1919 World Series and is being investigated for it, but is a much more level-headed crime boss than any of the others. Played by Michael Stulhbarg.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Badass in
* [[Bad Guys Play Pool]]
* [[Card Sharp]]: In the odd case that his natural ability is not enough.
* [[Crazy Prepared]]: He even makes his [[Mooks]] sign life insurance policies with himself as the beneficiary.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]
* [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones]]: He has a rather cute interaction with his wife in
* [[Evil Mentor]]: To Luciano and Lansky.
* [[Faux Affably Evil]]: He's always polite and well-spoken and particularly witty, but is utterly ruthless.
* [[For the Evulz]]: Once caused a man to choke to death simply for fun.
* [[Historical In-Joke]]: There are chips from the Brook casino on his desk in "To the Lost", which was the real Rothstein's most infamous business venture.
* [[Kick the Dog]]: He mentions that he once forced a man to choke to death for his own amusement, adding, "what do you think I'll do to you, if you don't tell me who hired you to kill
* [[Pragmatic Villainy]]: When it's in his interest, he is very willing to call off taking revenge and work with his enemies.
* [[Professional Gambler]]: And he wins loads of money that way [[Magnificent Bastard|because he is that damn good.]]
* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Not a nice guy at all, but he is fairly protective of his associates and is willing to listen to and reward good advice.
** Even Nucky turns to him for advice when things in Atlantic City turn bad. Rothstein could have held a grudge and said nothing but instead he gives him solid advice on how to approach the situation. Nucky is visibly impressed.
* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]
* [[Soft
* [[Stepford Smiler]]
* [[The Stoic]]
* [[Straight Edge Evil]]: Doesn't swear, drink, or womanize.
* [[The Teetotaler]]: He likes to stay sharp at the table.
* [[Wicked Cultured]]
* [[You Have Failed Me...]]: There's definite hints of this in Sason 2, when after being displeased by Luciano and Lansky, he has them serve as [[Mooks|muscle]] in [[Reassigned to Antarctica|transporting a liquor shipment]]. [[The Starscream|They begin to plan accordingly]].
[[File:lucky-luciano-BE_1648.jpg|frame|"I'll fucking bury this in your fucking head!"]]
Rothstein's [[The Dragon|number two]], an angry, hot-blooded young man prone to violent outbursts. Really doesn't like Jimmy, especially when his plan to sleep with Jimmy's wife goes sideways and Lucky ends up having an affair with Jimmy's ''mother'' instead. Played by Vincent Piazza.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[The Aggressive Drug Dealer]]: He's just starting this aspect of his business, but he spends most of season two trying to get Jimmy and Capone to sell heroin. He succeeds in bringing Rothstein into the heroin trade in "To the Lost".
* [[The Brute]]
* [[Butt Monkey]]
* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]
Line 859 ⟶ 823:
* [[Male Frontal Nudity]]: In "Family Limitation", so far the only male character to have shown as much.
* [[May-December Romance]]: With Gillian Darmody.
* [[Only Known
** Even fewer people (Capone among them) call him by his birth name - Salvatore. Not that he particularly enjoys it:
{{quote|
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Red to Lanksy (and Rothstein's) blue.
* [[The Starscream]]: Turning against Rothstein is really more Lansky's idea, but Lucky doesn't really protest too much and begins to embrace the idea.
* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: Not so much in
* [[Young Future Famous People]]
[[File:meyer-lansky-BE_3105.jpg|frame|"Nobody wants to be in school forever."]]
Rothstein's other main enforcer, he instead relies upon his intelligence and guile (as opposed to brute force) to get ahead in the world of bootlegging. Played by Anatol Yusef.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: Lansky is excruciatingly polite to almost everyone.
* [[All Jews Are Cheapskates]]: Wants very much to dispel this assumption, thinking that if he and Luciano carry around fake watches to sell, they'll look bad.
* [[Bastard Understudy]]: To Rothstein.
* [[Don't Explain the Joke]]: Yes, he got it, thank you.
* [[Evil Genius]]
* [[Evil Mentor]]: Despite his young age, he already has one disciple, [[wikipedia:Bugsy Siegel|"Benny" Siegel]].
* [[Face Palm]]: His reaction to Lucien D'Alessio taunting Jimmy in "The Emerald City" can only be described as this, even though his hands were tied.
* [[From Nobody to Nightmare]]: It's odd to think that a man whose introduction consisted of Chalky taunting him for his age will be one of the most powerful men in the United States in only a few decades.
* [[Jewish and Nerdy]]: In as much as a ruthless gangster can qualify as this.
Line 889 ⟶ 850:
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Blue to Luciano's red.
* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]
* [[The Starscream]]: Believes he and Luciano - with the help of Jimmy and his associates - can overthrow the old guard of Rothstein and Nucky.
* [[Stepford Smiler]]: Almost as much as his mentor, Rothstein. Though Lansky's are less evil and more "can't we all just cooperate and make money?"
* [[Stiff Upper Lip]]: Displays this as a kind of [[Refuge in Audacity]] when dealing with other gangsters.
* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: He and Luciano are sliding into this in Season 2.
* [[
* [[Young Future Famous People]]
=== Other ===
====[[Eddie Cantor]]====
[[File:eddie-cantor_tv0_6753.jpg|frame|"Lovely girl. Lovely family. Her father died of a throat ailment: They hanged him."<ref>Bad-dum tsk!</ref>]]
A prominent Vaudeville actor and comedian of the era. He is also a personal friend of Nucky and Lucy. Played by Stephen DeRosa.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Camp Straight]]: While as in history, he's presumably straight, he has rather flamboyant mannerisms that would qualify him as this due to [[Values Dissonance]].
* [[The Cast Showoff]]: Stephen DeRosa sings the [[Crowning Music of Awesome|Crowning Song Of Awesome]] of the Season 1 finale while in character as Cantor.
* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Ooooh, nooo!"
* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]: His most acclaimed numbers are about liking stupid women.
* [[Famed in Story]]: Even Van Alden, who has never been to Vaudeville, knows his name.
Line 913 ⟶ 873:
* [[Seinfeld Is Unfunny]]: His comedic number in the pilot can come as this.
[[File:hague_boardwalkempire_9053.jpg|frame|"I'm just proposing we call a spade, a spade."]]
The corrupt mayor of Jersey City. Unlike his homologues in Atlantic City who are just pawns of Nucky, he is in full charge of his town and deals with Nucky himself. Played by Chris Mulkey.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: He could apparently side, backstab and come back to Nucky multiple times in the same week. [[wikipedia:Frank Hague|History]] tells us that he was already doing that years before the timeframe of the show.
* [[Demoted to Extra]]: He only appears in the second season to introduce Jack Dempsey to Nucky.
* [[Only in It For
* [[Pet the Dog]]: Arguably gets such a moment when he tells Nucky that Senator Edge is backstabbing Nucky, even though said backstabbing benefited Hague.
* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain]]: He is a corrupt whoremonger that does not believe in female suffrage and defends women battering.
* [[Pragmatic Villainy]]: He is a Democrat, but doesn't bat an eye at doing nefarious deals with Republican politicians.
* [[Sleazy Politician]]
* [[Straw Misogynist]]: He is put in his place by Margaret right after his introduction.
{{break}}
[[File:BE_Nan-Britton_5639.png|frame|"He loves me. And he loves his baby daughter. But America needs him, and so I have to sacrifice."]]
Former mistress of Senator and later President [[Warren Harding]] and mother of a baby daughter, she is completely deluded that Harding is in love with her and that he will dump his wife and take her to the White House as soon as he wins the 1920 election. She meets Nucky during a Republican convention in Chicago, who decides to take her to Atlantic City and place her in Margaret's house until the election is over in order to avoid a scandal. Played by Virginia Kull.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]
* [[The Ditz]]: Not the brightest bulb in the box.
Line 940 ⟶ 899:
* [[May-December Romance]]: She fell in love with Harding when she was 16, well before he started his political career.
* [[The Mistress]]
* [[Stalker
* [[Unrequited Love]]
* [[Wide
{{break}}
====Harry Daugherty====
[[File:christopher-mcdonald-boardwalk-empire_9231.jpg|frame|"Suppose I play ball."]]
The ''massively'' corrupt campaign manager of Warren Harding and US Attorney General after his presidential election. Nucky uses his connections to help Harding get the nomination in exchange for some favors in the future, but when he finally needs them Daugherty just keeps making excuses. Played by Christopher McDonald.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[I Lied]]: He phones Nucky twice to tell him that, in essence, he is not saving his ass.
* [[The Man Behind the Man]]: To Harding.
* [[Sleazy Politician]]: And almost open about it. Nucky is baffled to find that he has already things to hide when he has been in office for less than three months.
* [[Stock Visual Metaphors|Visual Metaphor]]: He puts on [[Convenient Color Change|green shoes]] when he decides to sell Nucky down the river in order to save himself.
{{break}}
[[File:remus-boardwalk-empire_9696.jpg|frame|"[[Third Person Person|Remus]] owns the trucks that hijack his own liquor."]]
[[Third Person Person|George Remus]] is a prominent Cincinnati lawyer and major supplier of "legal" alcohol, as Remus exploits a loophole in the Volstead Act that permits its trade for medicinal purposes. Played by Glenn Fleshler.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Amoral Attorney]]
* [[Double-Speak]]: Remus is a master of it.
Line 971 ⟶ 929:
* [[Third Person Person]]: In case you didn't notice, [[Overly Long Gag|Remus]] has a habit of referring to himself in the third person, constantly.
* [[Verbal Tic]]
{{break}}
[[File:Bill_Fallon_BE_3984.jpg|frame|"$80 per hour. Which also will buy you my uncanny ability to make friends with judges."]]
Arnold Rothstein's silver-tongued lawyer, tasked with keeping him out of being prosecuted for rigging the 1919 World Series. He returns in Season 2 to take Nucky's defense in his election-rigging case. Played by David Aaron Baker.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[Amoral Attorney]]
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]
* [[Expy]]: Fallon himself isn't an expy, but he is the basis for [[Chicago|Billy Flynn]] and indeed, the entire silver-tongued, amoral lawyer archetype.
* [[Hyper Awareness]]: Unlike Nucky, he notices that Harlan has something important to say, which turns out to be the key to destroy Randolph's attempt to use Van Alden as a witness. Granted, Nucky could have realized it by himself if he wasn't a [[Jerkass]], but it's notable that Harlan had been working in the house for almost a month by then and no one else had bothered to ask him either.
* [[Only in It For
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections]]: Fallon has all the judges in New York in his pocket, and has a self-described "talent at winning over juries
====Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel====
A teenaged hoodlum, working as a gofer for Lansky and Luciano. He's a bit strange, but he hasn't started shooting people yet. Played by Michael Zegen.
{{tropelist|Tropes exhibited by this character include:}}
* [[The Artful Dodger]]: Is most likely all of 15, yet hangs around gambling dens and gangsters.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]
Line 996 ⟶ 953:
* [[Young Future Famous People]]
{{worksubpagefooter}}
| |||