Nucky Thompson

Nucky Thompson
Boardwalk Empire character
Nucky in the series premiere.
First appearance	"Boardwalk Empire"
Last appearance	"Eldorado"
Created by	Terence Winter
Portrayed by	Steve Buscemi, Marc Pickering (1897) Nolan Lyons (1884)
Information
Nickname(s)	Nucky, Nuck, Gus
Occupation	Treasurer of Atlantic County
Family	Ethan Thompson (father/deceased) Elias "Eli" Thompson (brother) Susan Thompson (sister/deceased)
Spouse(s)	Mabel Thompson (wife/deceased) Margaret Thompson (wife/separated)
Children	Enoch Jr. (deceased) Teddy Thompson (stepson) Emily Thompson (stepdaughter)

Enoch Malachi "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 political figure Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson. Nucky is employed as treasurer of Atlantic County, New Jersey, but in effect controls the region as a political boss. Nucky is a corrupt and powerful Republican 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 politics and vice of Atlantic City. 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.

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.

Nucky was born around 1870 and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the eldest child of a poor Irish Catholic family. He had a troubled childhood: His father, Ethan Thompson (Tom Aldredge, Ian Hart as a young man), was an abusive alcoholic who at one point scarred Nucky's hand with a fireplace poker, and his sister Susan died of tuberculosis. As a child, Nucky began working for Atlantic City political boss Commodore Louis Kaestner (Dabney Coleman), who became his mentor in politics. For a time, Nucky attended New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton and planned on becoming a teacher. However, he left college and returned to Atlantic City when the Commodore needed him. As a young man, he worked his way up the ladder to become deputy sheriff. He became sheriff after he arranged for the Commodore to have sex with Gillian Darmody (Gretchen Mol), who was only 13 at the time. 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.