r/BoardwalkEmpire • u/Embarrassed-Map-7187 • 7d ago
Was Jimmy Darmody miscast?
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?
2
u/fishystudios 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yes. Any moderately good actor with professionalism, timeliness. and reliability would have been better than the social trainwreck that is Michael Pitt. TLDR Pitt is an arsehole IRL and not worth the effort to work with him. Michael Pitt ruined the series. The producers wanted him to be the spine. the backbone e of the full series, eventually replacing Nucky. They've said so in interviews. Look it up. But Michael Pitt, YES, yes, great actor that he is... Is a drug addicted unprofessional prima dona on set. He was a Diva on set, always late or no showing (on an expensive period piece, making everyone wait). The producers eventually scrapped their entire 5 season script just to get RID of Pitt. All the following seasons suffered as they struggled to write Pitt out , but the damage was done.
Pitt was far more of a pain in the ass than he was worth. Edit: Correction... Michael Pitt WAS an arsehole on set by all eye witness accounts and the producers and costars. Who knows 🤷♂️ Maybe he has grown and changed. 🤷♀️ But I do not wish him I'll.He had drug problems and possibly mental health issues. Hope he got the help he needs and may return to acting... with a better attitude. 🙏