TV SERIES · 2010–2014 · USA
Boardwalk Empire
- Created by
- Terence Winter
- Network
- HBO
- Seasons
- 5
- Episodes
- 56
- Studio
- Closest to the Hole Productions, Sikelia Productions, Leverage Entertainment
45 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition is a place where the rules don't apply. And the man who runs things -- legally and otherwise -- is the town's treasurer, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, who is equal parts politician and gangster.
45 Interesting Facts About Boardwalk Empire
Interesting Facts (3)
- #001
- #002
Contains a major spoiler — show
Owen's (Charlie Cox's) death was going to be shot, but when an accident on-set prevented them from doing so, the producers decided to skip the idea and have him die off-screen, with the subsequent surprise when his corpse is delivered at the end of the episode.
- #003
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the first season, Steve Buscemi was told that Nucky's first wife, Mabel, was actually in an asylum, and not dead, as the character said to whoever asked. When Buscemi got the script for the episode in which Nucky tells Margaret the whole truth about Mabel's death, he talked to Terence Winter and asked him why Nucky was lying to Margaret when the scene had a confessional tone. Winter replied that the asylum storyline didn't work out, so Mabel was actually dead. The mortality rates in institutions at the turn of the century was fairly high, and being institutionalized was considered a death sentence.
Production Story (12)
- #004
The real-life figure of Enoch "Nucky" Johnson served as the inspiration for "Nucky" Thompson. Johnson was a physically commanding man, both tall and heavyset, with a receding hairline. He was quite unlike Steve Buscemi, and resembled the character of Tony Soprano from The Sopranos (1999). Creator Terence Winter also wrote for The Sopranos (1999), and created the character "Nucky" Thompson with Buscemi in mind, partially to make a central figure differing largely from Tony Soprano.
- #005
- #006
Many of the characters surrounding "Nucky" Thompson, and all but the basics of Thompson's life, were fictionalized. Major exceptions were the infamous gangsters depicted (Al Capone, Johnny Torrio, Lucky Luciano, Arnold Rothstein, and Meyer Lansky), who were based by the writers and actors to some extent on the real criminals' personalities and actions.
- #007
- #008
Michael Shannon claimed he was informed by his agent of the role of Nelson Van Alden while he was working on shooting a movie, and that a conference call between him and Terrence Winter and Martin Scorsese had already been scheduled for as soon as he got off work that day. Flustered, and stressed at arriving late for the meeting due to traffic, Shannon claimed that he came away from the pitch with the impression that Van Alden would be the "good guy" of the series when he accepted the role.
- #009
- #010
- #011
- #012
To promote the second season, which premiered on September 25, 2011, the producers paid the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $150,000 to decorate and operate a New York Transit Museum train of four retired New York City Subway Lo-V cars for each weekend in September 2011. The subway cars used were 5290, 5292 (both built in 1917), 5443, and 5483 (both built in 1924). The train operated between noon and 6 p.m. and ran as an express between 96th Street and Times Square-42nd Street on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line. While the MTA runs nostalgia trains each year, this was the first time they had been used for an advertising tie-in.
- #013
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the first season, Steve Buscemi was told that Nucky's first wife, Mabel, was actually in an asylum, and not dead, as the character said to whoever asked. When Buscemi got the script for the episode in which Nucky tells Margaret the whole truth about Mabel's death, he talked to Terence Winter and asked him why Nucky was lying to Margaret when the scene had a confessional tone. Winter replied that the asylum storyline didn't work out, so Mabel was actually dead. The mortality rates in institutions at the turn of the century was fairly high, and being institutionalized was considered a death sentence.
- #014
Contains a major spoiler — show
Michael Shannon claimed that before he read the script for his final episode, he received a phone call from Terence Winter in which the cell phone reception was so poor he could only hear every other word Winter said. Nevertheless Shannon immediately responded, "I'm dead, right?"
- #015
Contains a major spoiler — show
Arnold Rothstein, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, was an important recurring character in the first four seasons of "Boardwalk Empire", and was apparently being set up for a major story arc in the Season 4 finale. Yet he doesn't appear at all in Season 5. That's because HBO decided to pull the plug on the show, and to wrap up the narrative the action suddenly jumps from the years 1924 to 1931. The real Arnold Rothstein was gunned down in 1928, allegedly over a gambling debt, and his fate was simply skipped over in the series.
Behind the Scenes (12)
- #016
- #017
1920s Atlantic City was re-created for this series in a set in Rockaway Beach, New York. Executive Producer and pilot Director Martin Scorsese was so exacting in accuracy that, for example, he insisted the planks on the boardwalk be of the same exact size as they were in Atlantic City at that time.
- #018
Designed by John Dunn and tailored by Martin Greenfield, Boardwalk Empire's costumes were based on 1920s tailoring books from the Fashion Institute of Technology's research libraries and examples found at the Brooklyn Museum and the Met. The costumes have also been rented from the Daybreak Vintage Company located in Albany, NY, which also exhibits at the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show. Dunn's designs were meticulously detailed.
- #019
- #020
After completing the first season, Anthony Laciura was contacted by relatives of Louis Kessel, the real-life inspiration for his character Eddie Kessler, and offered to wear the pocket watch that Nucky Johnson gave Kessel as a gift when filming. "Eddie" is seen consulting the watch in the following seasons.
- #021
Director Timothy Van Patten delighted in directing Steve Buscemi for fight scenes, since the two of them were both experienced wrestlers in school. Van Patten further observed that filming fight scenes causes its own physical exhaustion for actors, due to the need to suppress their full strength.
- #022
- #023
- #024
Richard Harrow's unmasked disfigured face was entirely computer generated. Jack Huston remarked that it was accordingly more of a challenge to imagine half of his face missing when he was not wearing a mask. Huston also stuffed cotton into the left side of his mouth to affect his speech and jaw placement.
- #025
- #026
Dabney Coleman was undergoing cancer treatment during the filming of the second season, which led to a plotline in which Commodore Louis Kaestner suffers a stroke and is incapacitated for most of the season. Additionally, the schedule was rearranged so that Coleman's scenes were shot for multiple episodes during the production's first week. However, Terence Winter claims that the Commodore's death happened as planned and had nothing to do with Coleman's illness.
- #027
Contains a major spoiler — show
Owen's death, played by Charlie Cox, was going to be shot, but when an accident on set prevented them from doing so, the producers decided to skip the idea and have him die off-screen, with the subsequent surprise when his corpse is delivered at the end of the episode.
Characters & Cast (12)
- #028
- #029
- #030
- #031
- #032
- #033
- #034
- #035
- #036
Arnold Rothstein, played by Michael Stuhlbarg, was a significant recurring character in the first four seasons and seemed to be set up for a major story arc in the season 4 finale. However, he does not appear at all in season 5. The reason for this was HBO's decision to end the series and the action suddenly jumping from 1924 to 1931 in order to wrap up the story. The real Arnold Rothstein was shot in 1928 over a gambling debt, and his fate was skipped in the series.
- #037
According to Terence Winter, the killing of Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) by Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) was always planned; it was the ultimate payoff of Jimmy's warning to Nucky in the pilot ("You can't be half a gangster anymore."). However, Winter did not expect to kill Jimmy as early as the second season. In an interview with the American Television Archive, Winter explained that toward the middle of the second season, he realized the season's course would result in Jimmy and Nucky turning on each other for control of Atlantic City, and that the only logical ending for the season was Nucky killing Jimmy, thereby completing Nucky's transformation into a full gangster. Despite the reaction caused by killing off a popular character, Winter said this reaction "convinced me more than ever that we did the right thing."
- #038
Contains a major spoiler — show
Throughout the series, low-level mobster Mickey Doyle, played by Paul Sparks, gets in far more hot water for running his foolish, bragging mouth than for his criminal activities. In the show's penultimate episode, he is finally shot in the throat for talking too much.
- #039
Easter Eggs & References (2)
- #040
- #041
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the final episode, during the scene where Luciano and Lansky are explaining their plans for the future of the mob, one of the other mobsters at the table says, "Don't forget to pay your taxes." This is not only a comment on Al Capone's legal issues but could also be a reference to Nucky Johnson, the real-life version of Steve Buscemi's character. Johnson was also jailed for tax evasion.
Career & Awards (2)
- #042
- #043
To promote its second season, which began on September 25, 2011, the producers paid the Metropolitan Transportation Authority $150,000 to decorate and operate a New York Transit Museum train consisting of four retired New York City Subway Lo-V cars every weekend in September 2011. The cars used were 5290, 5292 (both built in 1917), 5443 and 5483 (both built in 1924). The train ran between noon and 6 p.m. and served express on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line between 96th Street and Times Square-42nd Street. Although the MTA operates "nostalgia trains" every year, this was the first time it was used for an advertising tie-in.
Life & Family (2)
- #044
Paz de la Huerta was fired due to being intoxicated most of the time she arrived on-set. In a Vanity Fair interview, La Huerta revealed that Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein had raped her in 2010 while she was filming season one of Boardwalk Empire. This traumatic event fueled her subsequent depression and alcoholism during season two.
- #045
Contains a major spoiler — show
Dabney Coleman underwent treatment for cancer while filming season two, necessitating the plot twist of Commodore Louis Kaestner suffering a stroke and becoming incapacitated for most of the season. The schedule was also changed so that the entire first week of production on the show was filming Coleman's scenes for multiple episodes. However, Terence Winter claims that the Commodore's eventual death had been according to plan, and had nothing to do with Coleman's illness.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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