List of Boardwalk Empire characters

This article lists characters in the television show Boardwalk Empire. This article includes characters based on actual people from the history of Atlantic City and the Mafia although some of their actual names may have been changed for the program.

Characters

Actor	Character	Cast/Recurring	Character notes	Based upon	Basis notes
Steve Buscemi	Enoch "Nucky" Thompson	Cast	The corrupt treasurer of Atlantic County and its most powerful political figure	Enoch L. Johnson [1]	The real-life Nucky was physically larger than Buscemi, standing an imposing 6′4 and weighing nearly 300 pounds. He also probably did not order hits on adversaries, just simply cut them off from doing business.[1]
Michael Pitt	James "Jimmy" Darmody	Cast	Nucky's protégé, he is haunted by his experiences fighting in World War I	James "Jimmy" Boyd[1]	Jimmy Boyd, who served as an assistant to Nucky, was head of the 4th Ward and a county clerk. He wasn’t Nucky’s driver and almost definitely didn’t rob bootleggers, but Boyd did do dirty work, delivering bad news and maintaining order in his ward.[1]
Kelly Macdonald	Margaret Schroeder	Cast	A young Irish widow and mother, she turns to Nucky for help before eventually becoming his mistress	Mary Ill[1]	This character appears in the Boardwalk Empire book’s prologue, and in the footnotes it’s revealed to be Mary Ill, who was involved with local women’s groups and charities. Mary Ill was interviewed extensively for the book and those interviews were the main source of building Nucky’s character.[1]
Michael Shannon	Nelson Van Alden	Cast	A zealous Federal Prohibition agent, he identifies Nucky as a key bootlegging figure.	William Frank[1]	A lawyer, who led a joint IRS and FBI task force to take down Nucky. The operation began in 1936, well after 1920, so this character’s historical accuracy is low.[1]
Shea Whigham	Elias "Eli" Thompson	Cast	Nucky's younger brother and sheriff of Atlantic County.	Alfred "Alf" Johnson[1]	Nucky, his brother and his father were all Atlantic County Sheriff at some point in their careers. Alf wasn’t Sheriff in 1920, but he was at some point after that.[1]
Aleksa Palladino	Angela Darmody	Cast	Jimmy's common-law wife and the mother of his young son
Michael Stuhlbarg	Arnold Rothstein	Cast	A powerful and intelligent New York gangster who enters into business with Nucky	Arnold Rothstein
Stephen Graham	Al Capone	Cast	A violent low-level Chicago gangster with ambitions of leading the Chicago mob	Al Capone
Vincent Piazza	Charles Luciano	Cast	A Sicilian-American gangster and close associate of Rothstein	Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Paz de la Huerta	Lucy Danziger	Cast	Nucky's temperamental mistress and a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer	Florence 'Flossi' Osbeck[2]	Johnson married showgirl Florence 'Flossi' Osbeck in 1933
Michael Kenneth Williams	Albert "Chalky" White	Cast	Nucky's counterpart in Atlantic City's black community	Chalky Wright	Chalky is probably not based on a real-life person, though Michael K. Williams does allude to the fact that there was a boxer on whom he was based. Chalky Wright is most likely that person, but he was fighting out in California at the time, so there probably is very little accuracy on that front.[1]
Anthony Laciura	Edward "Eddie" Kessler	Cast	Nucky's bumbling and often overwhelmed German personal assistant and valet	Louis Kessel[1]	A short, pudgy former cab driver who was essentially Nucky’s butler at his 9th floor residence at the Ritz. He was also Nucky’s primary driver and bodyguard. He was later arrested in a prostitution sting.[1]
Paul Sparks	Michael "Mickey Doyle" Kozik	Cast	An Atlantic City bootlegger	Mickey Duffy[1]	Actually Polish and born with a completely different name, he was a Philadelphia bootlegger and brewer. He was known for throwing opulent parties with his illegally obtained riches and was murdered in Atlantic City in 1931, so the character who is based on him can be killed anytime, given that the show is loose with timelines.[1]
Dabney Coleman	Commodore Louis Kaestner	Cast	Nucky's mentor and predecessor in Atlantic City. He is revealed to be Jimmy's biological father	Louis Kuehnle[1]	A businessman known as "The Commodore" due to his chairmanship of the Atlantic City Yacht Club, he was Nucky’s predecessor as a Republican Party power broker for the region. He helped establish the system of kickbacks from illegal industry to local government. He was friends with Nucky’s father, who alternated between sheriff and under-sheriff as a way to circumvent consecutive term limitations. Kuehnle went to prison in 1913 for awarding his own firm contracts as chairman of the Water Commission, he served just 3 years.[1]
Gretchen Mol	Gillian Darmody	Recurring Season 1; Main Cast Season 2	Jimmy's mother and an old friend of Nucky's. She is also Luciano's former lover.
Greg Antonacci	Johnny Torrio	Recurring	Capone's boss in the Chicago crime world	Johnny Torrio[1]
Erik Weiner	Agent Sebso	Recurring	Van Alden's partner
Jack Huston	Richard Harrow	Recurring Season 1; Main Cast Season 2	A former Army marksman who allies with Jimmy and later Nucky. Heavily scarred in the war, he wears a tin mask over half of his missing face.
William Hill	Alderman George O'Neill	Recurring	One of Nucky's political cronies and ward bosses.
Robert Clohessy	Alderman Neary	Recurring	One of Nucky's political cronies and ward bosses
Anna Katerina	Isabelle Jeunet	Recurring	A French woman who owns an haute couture shop on the boardwalk.
Max Casella	Leo D'Alessio	Recurring	A Philadelphia gangster Doyle owes money to.	Leo Lanzetta[1]	Philadelphia gangster
Edoardo Ballerini	Ignatius D'Alessio	Recurring	Leo's brother and another gangster	Ignatius Lanzetta[1]	Philadelphia gangster
Anatol Yusef	Meyer Lansky	Recurring	A young gangster who is a protégé of Rothstein and friends with Luciano	Meyer Lansky[1]
Joseph Riccobene	Frankie Yale	Recurring	Ruthless Brooklyn Boss and mentor to Al Capone	Frankie Yale[1]
Kevin O'Rourke	Edward L. Bader[1]	Recurring	Atlantic City mayoral candidate and (as of the season one finale) Mayor	Edward L. Bader
Malachy Cleary	Warren G. Harding	Recurring	Ohio Senator and presidential candidate	Warren G. Harding[1]
Dana Ivey	Mrs. McGarry[1]	Recurring	A prominent American civil rights leader who plays a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She is also a leader of the first Women's Temperance Movement.	Susan B. Anthony
Geoff Pierson	Senator Walter Edge	Recurring

Characters as performers

Actor	Performer	Episode	Notes
Stephen DeRosa	Eddie Cantor	"Boardwalk Empire", "Broadway Limited", "A Return to Normalcy", "A Dangerous Maid"	comedian and singer
Erin McGrath[3]	Edith Day	"Anastasia"	"Alice Blue Gown" (from "Irene")
John Treacy Egan[4]	Duncan O'Connor	"Nights in Ballygran"	"Carrickfergus"
A'Lisa Miles	Mamie Smith	"Home"	"Crazy Blues"
Kathy Brier	Sophie Tucker	"Belle Femme"	"Some of These Days"
Remy Auberjonois	Hardeen	"Paris Green"	magician and escape artist (brother of Houdini)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y} Johnson, Nelson (2010). Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City. Plexus Publishing, Inc.. ISBN 978-0966674866. 
2. ^ "The real 'Boardwalk Empire': Atlantic City during Prohibition in the 1920s". Daily News (New York). 24 September 2010. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/galleries/atlantic_city_/atlantic_city_.html. 
3. ^ Venutolo, Anthony, 'Boardwalk Empire' episode 4, 'Anastasia': Nucky's birthday bash and back room deals, The Star-Ledger, October 11, 2010
4. ^ Venutolo, Anthony, 'Boardwalk Empire' recap: Van Alden busts up Nucky's Celtic bash, The Star-Ledger, October 18, 2010