There was a lot riding on Boardwalk Empire when it debuted last year. With a master filmmaker at the helm (Martin Scorcese) and an ambitious budget, the show could have either returned some of HBO's lost critical luster or crashed and burned as an overreaching misfire.
Luckily the show hit, especially in its highly celebrated second season. Many factors contributed to this, but certainly one of the biggest was Buscemi's lead role as corrupt politician Enoch "Nucky" Thompson. An opportunity like Boardwalk Empire is the kind of thing character actors (like, say, James Gandolfini) dream of, and Buscemi relishes the role with typical gusto. On a personal note, I'm upset my parents didn't name me Enoch. I would have also settled for Nucky.
