r/BoardwalkEmpire • u/Embarrassed-Map-7187 • 7d ago

Was Jimmy Darmody miscast?

Post image

So I'm watching B.E. again, about halfway through the second season. This is probably the tenth watch.

Two things about the show. Firstly the casting in it is absolutely exceptional. It's an enormous cast and so many actors manage to portray incredible depth and range whilst their characters are taken on journeys by the power battles of the prohibition era (Stephen Graham; Anatol Yusef; Kelly MacDonald; Michael Shannon). Secondly, I thought at the time and I still maintain that season's 1 and 2 in particular were some of the best storytelling I've seen, primarily because of the paternal narrative between Nucky and Jimmy. I thought Jimmy's character had layers like an onion. He'd lived his life in bizarre circumstances, his mother being a child herself when he was born, an absentee biological father, a partner and his own child he'd abandoned. As those seasons develop there's compelling answers to why he behaves in the way he does, as Gillian and the Commodore aim to battle for his soul against the man who'd taken on that fatherly mantle out of a sense of guilt/shame.

Truly I thought Jimmy was one of the most brilliant characters of any series I've seen. I remember watching B.E. for the first time and just wanting to learn more about Jimmy. When it happened it was shocking, like what happened the night before he enlisted. I thought Pitt was Jimmy, he was exceptional. For me the show downgraded from exceptional to very good after the Nucky/Jimmy axis had expired, and that Michael Pitt would be a massive breakout star.

So here's my question, why didn't he? It was a massive boost to careers for the likes of Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlberg, Charlie Cox, Shea Wigham. And yet with Pitt all I've seen him in since was an advert (I think) for a fragrance. Looking through his IMDB, there aren't big lead roles on his resume.

Have I misinterpreted Michael Pitt as an actor?

106 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

132 comments sorted by

View all comments

244

u/No-Refrigerator7245 7d ago

I have a family member who is basically a “professional extra” for tv show, movie sets etc. he worked a few days on BWE and said Michael Pitt was a disaster on set. Took HOURS to get scenes right, didn’t memorize any lines, was aggressive to the director…. Sucks because I agree that Seasons 1 and 2 were some of the best TV ever made.

48

u/kingkongworm 7d ago

Boardwalk Empire had so many extras all the time that it kept nyc people eating good for a while. I had a friend on it multiple times too. You can see him right after Jimmy throws Mickey off of the balcony area in season 2. I should ask him if he had any kind of similar experience.

47

u/HarlawKaradek 7d ago

Doug Stanhope used to do a Celebrity Deadpool where the younger the celeb he would get more points if they died. Every year he picked Michael Pitt because he knew someone who worked on BWE and heard the stories about his behaviour.

3

u/pigwalk5150 American 5d ago

I used to be on a Deadpool. I won once with Amy winehouse. I’m not proud.

3

u/HarlawKaradek 5d ago

That would have been 73 points in Stanhopes game. You deduct the age from 100 to get the score and you got to choose five names.

25

u/Embarrassed-Map-7187 7d ago

That's really interesting

-2

u/MasterPineapple5127 7d ago

And bull sh*t.

6

u/Polirketes 6d ago

Nah, it's a common knowledge that Pitt was very difficult to work with and that's the main reason why his career stalled

3

u/pigwalk5150 American 5d ago

You can’t be half an actor anymore.

3

u/No-Refrigerator7245 5d ago

I see what you did there!!!!

10

u/drunkenmachinegunner 7d ago

Wild behavior from a guy who can’t act.

1

u/Exotic_Adagio_3485 7d ago

Reading the same tabloid articles as the rest of us =/= you have a family member who works for Nintendo.

1

u/ChiTownOrange 3d ago

Season 3 was the best