Gyp Rosetti
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Giuseppe Colombano "Gyp" Rosetti is a character in the
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TV series ''
Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...
'', portrayed by
Bobby Cannavale Bobby Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. His breakthrough came with the leading role as FDNY Paramedic Roberto "Bobby" Caffey in the NBC series ''Third Watch'', which he played from 1999 to 2001. Cannavale received the Pri ...
. Rosetti is a
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
gangster who works for
Joe Masseria Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria (; January 17, 1886April 15, 1931) was an Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 to ...
(Ivo Nandi). Hot-headed, easily offended and prone to bouts of extreme violence, he is the primary antagonist of the series’ third season.


Fictional biography

Rosetti was born in
Sperlinga Sperlinga is a comune in the province of Enna, in the central part of the island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Geography Sperlinga is at about above sea l ...
, a small Italian ''
comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' in
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. He grew up in poverty, living in a hut carved into a cave. His father was a
bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...
who died when he was 50. Rosetti eventually emigrated to the United States and began working for Italian mob boss
Joe Masseria Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria (; January 17, 1886April 15, 1931) was an Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 to ...
. He runs
brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
s,
speakeasies A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...
and illegal gambling dens in southern
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. He lives in an apartment with his wife, two daughters and mother-in-law. Although Rosetti regularly kills people over slight insults, he does not retaliate when his wife and mother-in-law openly mock him. He is also depicted as having
sadomasochistic Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...
sexual tastes; he has one of his lovers choke him with a belt while he masturbates, and has another insult him as a form of
foreplay Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...
.


Season 3

Rosetti is introduced beating a good samaritan to death with a tire iron for making an off-handed comment about Rosetti not knowing what 3-in-One Oil is. He travels to
Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...
on New Year's Eve (December 31, 1922) in order to purchase a large quantity of bootlegged liquor from Nucky. In order to simplify his operations and keep the law at bay, Nucky decides to sell alcohol exclusively to
Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 6, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler who became a kingpin of the Jewish Mob in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have orga ...
(
Michael Stuhlbarg Michael Stuhlbarg ( ; born July 5, 1968) is an American actor. Known for his character roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition ...
). Rosetti, anticipating a 50% price markup if he were to purchase from Rothstein, curses Nucky and leaves for New York City. He then takes over the small town of Tabor Heights and blockades Nucky's shipment heading to Rothstein in New York. Since Tabor Heights sits on the only road suitable for winter travel between Atlantic City and New York and is the last spot to fill up on gas on the way, Nucky has no way to deliver his alcohol. Nucky eventually makes a truce with Rosetti, selling him alcohol, and Rosetti leaves Tabor Heights. However, Rosetti changes his mind when he perceives Nucky's departing message, "buona fortuna",
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
for "good luck" — as an insult. This escalates, with Rosetti choosing to burn the Sheriff of Tabor Heights alive, then ambush a convoy transporting liquor to Rothstein, killing 11 of Nucky's men (in spite of Eli scouting out the town in advance). Rothstein responds by sending
Benjamin Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (; February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was influential within the Jewish Mob, along with his childhood friend and fell ...
( Michael Zegen) to kill Rosetti. Although Siegel fails to kill Rosetti, he does kill four of Rosetti's men and a waitress Rosetti had been having sex with, which causes Rosetti to leave Tabor Heights and return to New York. On
Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
, Rosetti's second-in-command Tonino Sandrelli (Chris Caldovino) informs him of all the territory they lost in New York City because of their long absence. After dinner, Rosetti goes to church, where he chastises God for the life he was given. He then beats up a priest and steals the church donations. Masseria is upset with Rosetti's long absence and gives the order to kill Rosetti. As Masseria's men get up, Rosetti tells Masseria that his own losses are nothing compared to all that Masseria can lose from Nucky and Rothstein partnering together. Rosetti is able to convince Masseria to spare his life and provide him with additional men to kill both Nucky and Rothstein and take over Atlantic City. Rosetti is able to start his own illegal alcohol import business and take over the rackets of Atlantic City. He makes a move to kill Nucky, Rothstein and
Charlie Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano ( ; ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian gangster who operated mainly in the United States. He started his criminal career in the Five Points Gang and was instrumental in the ...
( Vincent Piazza); on a tip from Gillian Darmody, he blows up Babette's
supper club A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class imag ...
, but all three men survive. A gang war soon erupts between Nucky and Rosetti, with dozens of casualties on both sides, including Nucky's top enforcer Owen Sleater (
Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English-American actor. He is best-known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in seven projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, leading the television series '' Daredevil'' (2015–2018) a ...
). Rosetti and his men then take up residence in Gillian's brothel, planning to eventually take it over. Rosetti's men soon come after Nucky himself, but he escapes and seeks protection from Northside leader Chalky White (
Michael K. Williams Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame for his acclaimed portrayals of Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'' (2002–2008) and List of Boardwalk Empire characters, Alb ...
). Rosetti tries to persuade White to surrender Nucky, but White denies knowing his whereabouts. White agrees to support Nucky and is able to fight back against Rosetti with
Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...
's (
Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...
) support. That night, Rosetti is about to have sex with Gillian, who tries to inject him with
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
so she can render him helpless and kill him. He realizes what she is doing just in time, however, and overpowers her, injecting her during the struggle. Moments later, Masseria's men head back to New York, as Nucky and Rothstein have struck a deal wherein Rothstein convinces Masseria to withdraw his support from Rosetti in exchange for taking over operation of the Overholt distillery. Men working for White's and Capone's gangs ambush and kill Masseria's men as they leave town, while Richard Harrow ( Jack Huston) shows up at the brothel to rescue Gillian's grandson Tommy, and kills most of Rosetti's men in the process with the exception of Rosetti, Tonino, and two of his guards. Nucky and Eli find Tonino in the aftermath of the massacre, and agree to let him live on the condition that he kill Rosetti. He convenes with Rosetti and the other two guards at a beach, and while Rosetti is relieving himself, Tonino stabs Rosetti in the back, then again in the chest, killing him. Tonino then takes Rosetti's body back to New York City.


Reception

The role received critical acclaim and earned Cannavale the
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2013. He was also nominated along with the rest of the cast for the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Drama Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in drama series. Winners and nominees 1990s 20 ...
. Rosetti was named "Best TV Villain" of 2012 by
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
. Additionally, he has been ranked #12 by
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
among the "40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time".


References


External links


Gyp Rosetti
character bio at HBO.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosetti, Gyp Boardwalk Empire Fictional gangsters Fictional capos Fictional murderers Fictional Sicilian people Television characters introduced in 2012 Fictional characters from New York (state) Fictional immigrants to the United States American male characters in television Fictional murdered people