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James Edison Darmody is a fictional character in the television show ''
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 ...
'', played by
Michael Pitt Michael Carmen Pitt (born April 10, 1981) is an American actor, model, and musician. In film, he has appeared in ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch (film), Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (2001), ''Bully (2001 film), Bully'' (2001), ''Murder by Numbers'' ...
. He is one of the main characters in the first two seasons of the series. Unlike most of the other main characters in the series, Jimmy is not based on a historical figure, even though he may be inspired by
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 ...
politician and Atlantic City political boss Nucky Thompson's protégé, James H. "Jimmy" Boyd. Pitt is also the only actor besides
Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...
to appear in every episode for which he is credited.


Fictional biography

Jimmy is the son of
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 ...
political boss Commodore Louis Kaestner ( Dabney Coleman) and showgirl Gillian Darmody ( Gretchen Mol). His mother was only 13 at the time of his birth, while his father was 54. The Commodore's protégé, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (
Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...
), arranged for the Commodore to rape Gillian in return for being promoted to Sheriff of Atlantic City. Jimmy was raised by his mother with support from Nucky, who became a father figure to Jimmy; the Commodore was indifferent to his son. Nucky eventually took over the Commodore's
political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...
and set Jimmy up for great success when he grew up. Jimmy went to
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, where he met his future wife, Angela (
Aleksa Palladino Aleksa Palladino (born ) is an American actress, perhaps best known for her lead roles in '' Manny & Lo'', '' The Adventures of Sebastian Cole'', ''Find Me Guilty'', Angela Darmody in the HBO crime series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2011), Ma ...
). He left school to fight in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, leaving behind his pregnant girlfriend. In Season 2, it is revealed that he joined the Army because he felt guilty about a drunken sexual encounter with his mother and because he likely faced expulsion from college after assaulting a professor who had made a pass at her. Jimmy was stationed in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
fighting on the Western Front against Germany. His leg was wounded by fragments from a German
grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...
, leaving him with a permanent limp. Darmody also suffered from reoccurring nightmares caused by PTSD (back then known as shell shock).


Season one

In January 1920, Jimmy had recently moved back to Atlantic City after recovering from his war injury. He displayed signs of
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
from memories of the
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...
and refused to go back to school. He ends up working for Nucky as his driver and bodyguard. Frustrated that he is not doing more, he and
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 ...
( Stephen Graham) hijack a shipment of bootlegged liquor that Nucky sold 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) and gun down the drivers. One of them survives long enough to identify Jimmy, but Nucky gets him out of trouble by blaming the hijacking on the deceased Hans Schroeder ( Joseph Sikora) and sending Jimmy to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. There, he works for Johnny Torrio ( Greg Antonacci) alongside Capone. When Nucky faces trouble back home from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
gangsters hired by Rothstein, he takes Jimmy back into his operation. Jimmy returns to Atlantic City with Richard Harrow ( Jack Huston), a disfigured
marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized telescopic sight, scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper ri ...
whom he met in a military hospital in Chicago. They become close friends, with Richard becoming Jimmy's main ally in bootlegging. Jimmy also orders Richard to kill a rival gangster who had disfigured Pearl, a prostitute Jimmy was fond of, who become addicted to laudanum as a result of the attack and ultimately committed suicide while in Jimmy's care. Jimmy reconciles with his father after the Commodore survives a poisoning attempt. Jimmy is deeply hurt when he finds out that it was Nucky who arranged for the rape of his mother by his father, and plots with his father and Nucky's brother Eli ( Shea Whigham) to take back control of Atlantic City from Nucky.


Season two

By the beginning of season two, Jimmy is married to Angela, with whom he raises their son, Tommy. The Commodore has the New Jersey District Attorney's office arrest Nucky for
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...
and recruits Nucky's political allies. He and Jimmy then work on controlling the illegal alcohol being made and sold in Atlantic City. When the Commodore suffers a stroke, Jimmy takes over his operations. Jimmy is put in a difficult position when his partners in the bootlegging business — Capone,
Lucky 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) and
Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...
( Anatol Yusef) — pressure him to kill Nucky. Though hesitant, Jimmy agrees to order Nucky's murder. Nucky is shot in the hand, but Clifford Lathorp kills the assailant before he can finish Nucky off. Jimmy is left wondering if he is doing the right thing. Jimmy enters a deal with
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
gangster Manny Horvitz ( William Forsythe) to supply him alcohol. Jimmy is short on cash and demands a $5,000 advance. However, Nucky has Owen Sleater ( Charlie Cox), a former IRA assassin, blow up the warehouse where Jimmy's liquor is stored. Jimmy finds himself with no alcohol and thus no way to pay his debts. He ends up buying medicinal alcohol from George Remus ( Glenn Fleshler) and uses it to make whiskey. Nucky resigns as Treasurer of Atlantic County, and offers his surrender to Jimmy. However, this is all a part of Nucky's power-play. He has 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 ...
), the leader of the black community in Atlantic City, to get all the black workers in the city to go on strike. The strike cripples the tourist economy that the city runs on. With help from Owen, Nucky then buys whiskey from Ireland and starts selling it in Atlantic City. Nucky's bootlegging operation flourishes, while Jimmy and his partners are left with an inferior product and nobody to sell it to. Meanwhile, Jimmy grows tired of Horvitz asking him to repay his debts, and contacts Horvitz's rival
Waxey Gordon Irving Wexler (born January 19, 1888 – June 24, 1952) better known as Waxey Gordon, was an American gangster who specialized in bootlegging and illegal gambling. An associate of Arnold Rothstein during prohibition, he was caught up in a pow ...
( Nick Sandow) to have him killed. A few days later, Waxey's henchman attempts to kill Horvitz in his shop, and manages to wound him, but Horvitz fights back and kills the assailant by sinking a meat cleaver into his head. Figuring out Jimmy is responsible from a matchbook in the dead man's pocket, Horvitz plots his revenge. Torturing Mickey for an address, Horvitz enters Jimmy's house, expecting to find him there. Since Jimmy is out of town, he instead finds Angela with her
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
lover and kills them both. Jimmy is devastated, and dulls the pain with alcohol and
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 ...
. He attacks his mother when she talks about Angela's death nonchalantly. When the Commodore comes to Gillian's defense, Jimmy kills his own father, partially at Gillian's urging. Jimmy tries to make amends with Nucky, and he and Harrow help him with his election fraud case by killing the main witness for the prosecution, Alderman Jim Neary ( Robert Clohessy), and staging it to look like a suicide. After the case ends in a mistrial, Nucky calls Jimmy and tells him that he has kidnapped Horvitz. However, Jimmy knows that he is being lured to his death, and willingly goes unarmed to see Nucky. Jimmy tells Nucky that he truly died during the war, and even tries to talk him through the mechanics of shooting someone. Nucky shoots him twice in the head, killing him.


Season three

Sixteen months after Jimmy's death, Nucky has a nightmare where he shoots an adolescent Jimmy below the eye (the same place Nucky had actually shot him). By the beginning of season three, Gillian has not had Jimmy declared legally dead and runs the Commodore's mansion in Jimmy's absence. She turns the house into a high-class
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 ...
and raises Tommy as her own. She eventually kills a man who resembles Jimmy and uses his body in place of Jimmy's, giving her control of the Commodore's estate until Tommy is an adult.


Season four

In the season four finale, set two years after Jimmy's death, Gillian is put on trial for the murder of the man she claimed was her son in season three. Richard, trying to keep Tommy out of her custody, testifies against her. However, without a body, Gillian faces little chance of getting convicted. Richard then strikes a deal with Nucky to anonymously tip off where Jimmy was buried. Jimmy's corpse is dug up and Gillian is convicted of murder.


Ending

Series creator and
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
Terence Winter Terence Patrick Winter (born October 2, 1960) is an American writer and producer of television and film. He was the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). Before creating ''Boar ...
said he always planned on killing off Jimmy, but did not think it would happen so soon in the series. Originally, Jimmy was supposed to survive after season two. The storyline was changed when Dabney Coleman, who played the Commodore, was being treated for cancer during filming. In order to accommodate Coleman's condition, the Commodore's screen time was reduced and Jimmy became the replacement leader of the rebellion against Nucky. The further they got in the writing process, the more the writers realized that Nucky killing Jimmy was the only logical conclusion to the story. Winter has said that the decision to kill off Jimmy was made at the beginning of Season 2. "The idea was to try and push things to their absolute limit, even if it makes it difficult for yourself and your writing team. If you take things to their logical extreme with the situation we created, Jimmy has betrayed Nucky, he tried to have him killed. You want to be honest about the storytelling. In the pilot, Jimmy told Nucky: "You can’t be half a gangster anymore." We wanted with the first two seasons to follow that trajectory, where he goes full season from being the guy who doesn't want to get his hands dirty to actually pulling the trigger himself. And what's the strongest version of that? To pull the trigger on the very guy who told him, "You can’t be half a gangster anymore." It's like, "Guess what? You're right. I can't. And here's me now fully becoming a gangster." Anything short of Nucky doing it himself wouldn't feel real, it wouldn't be real. And it would be a cheat for us to say, "We want to keep our beloved character Jimmy Darmody alive." Winter stated that his goal was to mislead the audience into thinking Jimmy and Nucky would reconcile and there would be a happy ending. "I wanted them to think right up to the very end that Nucky is going to forgive him and take him back. It was a really hard decision. You’re sort of blowing up your own show, in some ways. Now we’re back in the writers room trying to figure out where we go from here without Jimmy Darmody." In October 2011, Pitt's agent fired him, saying that he was "really difficult on set and otherwise." After the season two finale, rumors began circulating that Jimmy was killed off because Pitt was difficult to work with. Both Pitt and Winter have denied this.


Reception

Michael Pitt, along with the rest of the cast of ''Boardwalk Empire'', won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2010 and 2011. Pitt was also nominated for a
Monte-Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Albert II, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony ...
Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Soon after the show's debut, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reported an increased demand for Jimmy's hairstyle — a trimmed buzz-cut short on the sides, left long on the top and swept back from the forehead — at barber shops in the United States. The show's particular take on the style along with a number of variations, oft described as an "undercut", remained popular for over a decade afterwards, long outlasting the character's time on the show and the run of the program itself.


Notes


External links


James "Jimmy" Darmody
at HBO.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Darmody, Jimmy Boardwalk Empire Fictional characters from New Jersey Television characters introduced in 2010 Fictional bodyguards Fictional gangsters Fictional characters involved in incest Fictional patricides Fictional murdered people Fictional assassins Fictional World War I veterans Fictional murderers American male characters in television Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder Fictional American people of Irish descent