All language subtitles for The Final Shot-A Farewell to Boardwalk Empire EN subs_track3_eng

"Boardwalk Empire"
provided an incredible backdrop

which we could tell stories
about politics, race relations,

and, really, the formation
of modern America.

The beauty of
doing these shows

is exploring characters
over the course of,

hopefully, three, five years.

We told the story of Nucky
as a leader and as a person,

seeing through his eyes and with the
backdrop of the prohibition years.

That's exactly the story
we set out to tell

and I'm really proud
of the way we did it.

I certainly feel proud
of the work that we've done,

and I feel like we're leaving
the audience with something

that they can enjoy
for years to come.

- sync and corrections by Zac -
- www.addic7ed.com -

- Background.
- Sound.

Camera.

Somewhere back in 2007, I had been
given the book "Boardwalk Empire"

by an executive at HBO,

who told me Martin Scorsese
was attached to this project.

It was a history book,
basically.

It was the history
of Atlantic City.

The Eureka moment for me came

when I read the chapter
about Nucky Johnson,

who we, of course, fictionalized
as Nucky Thompson.

This guy was a TV series
waiting to happen.

In less than two hours,

liquor will be declared
illegal by decree

of the distinguished gentlemen
of our nation's congress.

To those beautiful,
ignorant bastards.

The period we chose to focus on
was the prohibition years...

1919 to the early '30s.

And they were an incredibly
tumultuous time in the United States.

In terms of the casting
process, you know,

first and foremost,
we needed our Nucky.

We wanted to know
who the guy was

that we were going to be
building this series around.

I got a call from Terry Winter and
he told me that I had the part.

I said, you know, "we'd like
to cast you in this role."

I said, "I know you're still
considering other actors",

but I just really appreciate
you thinking of me."

He almost talked himself
out of it.

But I said, "no, this is the call.
We want you to do it."

And he says, "no, Steve.
I'm offering you the part."

- What do you want, Mickey?
- Come on, Nuck.

I come to youse hat in hand.

When I auditioned,
I did the thing

that I kind of do
as Mickey Doyle...

With the voice and the laugh.

As I was leaving, Ellen Lewis,
the casting director,

said, "can you come back in
and do it again?"

And this time,
they want you to try...

Just don't do any of that
that you just did.

So I did it and, I mean,
it was awful.

I mean, it was terrible.
Or at least I thought it was awful.

As I approached my first day
with Mr. Scorsese,

I wasn't totally sure

which character
had gotten the part.

And no one told me.

- My pal Meyer.
- Mickey Doyle.

How do you do?

I had an audition
for an 18-year-old,

tough, Jewish kid

from the Lower East Side
of Manhattan.

And I thought, "I'm 30,
I'm from London",

and how am I gonna
pull this off?"

- Mr. Thompson.
- Torrio's man.

I was at home when
the phone went and it was Marty.

He just went to me,
"hello, kid. How you doing?"

I was like,
"yeah, I'm okay."

He was like, "look,
I've got this thing.

'Boardwalk Empire.'"

I was like, "oh, okay." And he went,
"I'd love you to play Al Capone."

I went,
"yeah, sure. Okay."

I went in.
I read.

They said, "we'd like
you to meet Marty."

This is all the same day.

Spent about an hour and a half

talking about growing
up Italian in New York.

At which point I said, "Marty,
do you want me to read for you?"

And he said,
"yeah, yeah. Read."

I read for him, he said,
"go to wardrobe."

First I auditioned for
one of the boat captains.

And then I heard that they were
thinking about me for the brother.

And so it, uh, you know,
got kicked up a notch.

You know,
the peculiar thing is that

at the same time
the feds are raiding Mickey,

this shit's happening
three miles away.

Ain't that a coincidence.

Is there anything you
want to say or should I?

- Background.
- And action.

The first day on set
was a good first day for me

'cause I didn't have
any dialog.

The Winter of '88, a blizzard
of biblical proportions.

Martin Scorsese
was directing and I thought,

"okay, I can get through
the first day."

I had on this costume...
Very tough to wear

in front of all these people
you didn't know, you know?

And then I had to leap up
into his arms

and I just heard this...

All the way up the back.

We all had to go in
another room and sew it up.

It was just sort of horrifying.

My first day on set was actually
that scene with Michael.

One of the crew members, Charlie,
he sort of took me aside and said,

"you know, you need to work
on your accent a little bit."

And I was like, "but I'm
shooting in a minute."

So I asked Marty if I
could have 10 minutes.

He went, "yeah,
sure, sure, sure."

And Charlie sat with me and I really
listened to Charlie's accent.

And I went in
and I had to... you know,

I had to shake hands with Michael
and say, "I'm Al Capone."

- Nice talking to you.
- You, too.

- Jimmy Darmody.
- Al Capone.

All right, Al.

It was one of them
moments where my sphincter

was going about
90 Miles an hour.

I remember
the first table read.

I was dressed in my audition
suit and had worn a bow tie.

And, of course, I was the
only one there dressed up.

I felt ridiculous.

My first table read
was, um, nerve-racking.

The main thing
that stood out to me

was that I was
the only black in the room.

I was just like, "wow."

I had never been the only black
in anything before.

My first day on set
was like a 14-hour day.

And they were like,
"okay, it's time to go."

And I remember Mr. Scorsese was
like, "we're done? We're done?"

Like, that's it?
That's all we got?"

I feel like I'm back
in the '70s.

I found out what it was
to work with Marty.

It's like 2:00 in the morning,
he comes in, he goes,

"great! Perfect! Really good! Perfect!
Let's do a few more."

Fine town, Chicago.

Yeah, well, it ain't New York,
that's for sure.

New York ain't New York now
with prohibition.

It will be if I have
something to say about it.

It sounds to me like it brings us to
the business portion of our meeting.

In light of
recent developments,

I thought it might be a mutual
benefit for you boys to meet.

I don't recall having had

a more satisfying experience

with the words that I've been
offered to act with.

I like this room.

One looks down in secret
and sees many things.

- You know what I saw?
- Nah.

A servant pretending
to be a king.

It's just been deeply
satisfying every episode.

Terry Winter, of course,
leading the charge.

Howard Korder as well.

I had been a fan
of Howard Korder's

for a long time
before I actually met him.

I had met with
Terry and Tim when they were

starting to put things together
and looking for writers.

He read the pilot, I offered him
the job, and he said, "no."

And I called him and I said,
"well, that's not the right answer."

That's not how
this is supposed to go.

"It's supposed to be
yes, of course."

I had worked on a TV series
decades earlier.

I really didn't think
it was for me.

I said, "I assure you
it'll be completely different."

And just give it
a couple months,

and if you hate it, great,
no harm, no foul.

"If you like it,
you know, stay."

And so it seemed like a better
idea to say yes than no.

Do you have a suspect?

Waxey Gordon
comes to mind.

- Naturally.
- But it's not Waxey.

Because Waxey would have to clear it
with you and you would've said no

because you're
in business with me.

That could be
what I want you to think.

It could, but I doubt it.

How can you be sure?

Because if you were
trying to be obvious,

you'd never be that obvious.

This is why I enjoy
our conversations.

The larger narrative arcs

are incredibly
well-considered.

But then the detail
that's added

once, you know, you receive
the first draft,

then you'll receive something
that you slightly tweak.

If it's the night
before shooting,

and sometimes the morning of
shooting, sometimes during shooting,

if there's a better line
of dialog, it'll go in.

In one episode,

um, Howard Korder came back

with a little tweak
to a side scene.

- And the line was...
- The negro in question.

And I read...

And I read that

and I just laughed out loud

because it was so...

It was just the perfect accent

to the scene
that had preceded it.

And it was also
so wonderfully authentic.

And I said to myself, "wow."

Howard must be
a negro in disguise

"to have written this."

It is not
an exaggeration to say

I could not have done
this show without him.

The show would not have been
half as good

without Howard Korder's
involvement.

We've been on the road
for 18 hours.

I need a bath, some chow...

And then you and me sit down

and we talk about
who dies, huh?

The best thing that can
happen when you're writing

in this serialized world

is you discover things you had
no idea you were going to do.

We're creating this
series as it goes along.

So very often I don't share with the
cast where their characters are going

or where the story arcs are going
because we're not settled on it.

I think part of the process

of not showing the actors what
they're going to be doing next

provides a surprise for them.

And it certainly keeps you
in the moment.

Margaret always surprised me.

I thought I knew
what she was all about

and she gets the job
in the dress shop

and then she steals something.

And I was like...

"She's not a thief.
This can't be."

- Good evening, Madame Jeunet.
- Bonsoir.

And so many things
that were a shock to me...

I thought,
"well, that's quite good

'cause it'll be a shock
to the people watching."

Early on, there have been
debates with actors about...

They want to know
what's gonna happen.

I said, "well, if it turns out
that the actor

you're playing
in a scene with"

in three episodes
is your mortal enemy,

I don't want you
to know that now.

I don't want you to play that
even subconsciously,

"so you really shouldn't
know that."

You've had your last meal
in this place.

Looking very respectable,
James.

- What did he promise you?
- More than you ever did.

I keep my promises.
And I'll make you one now.

I will ruin you.
All of you.

It was all very cloak and dagger,
which I thought was brilliant.

Why should we know
everything that's going on

if we don't know
it as a character?

So I was very happy to sort of
watch it as an audience member,

as a sort of... as an avid
viewer when it came out.

I watched him

from a blind for three days.

He lifted it
to scratch his nose.

I put a bullet

one inch below his eye.

It's really hard to pick
a favorite Chalky scene.

There are so many
beautiful moments

that I'm so proud
of the way they turned out.

But I would go with the scene

with him and
the ku klux klan member.

I ain't building no bookcase.

I was born in Elgin, Texas.

My daddy taught himself
the carpenter trade

doing for the black folk there.

The ancestral energy

that I tapped into
for that particular scene

was real intense for me.

These here are my daddy tools.

What are you
gonna do with them?

I ain't building no bookcase.

One of my favorite scenes
was the scene

where I pick up Eli from prison
'cause I got to drive a car.

How, big chief.

Which way to the little big horn?

How, big chief.

Which way
to the little big horn?

No luggage, right?

Anytime I got to wind
people up, it was good.

The fight scene that
Nucky and his brother had,

I think, was one
of the highlights.

It took us two days to shoot.

I slapped Shea.

He's that kind of actor
that says, "no, just do it."

I said, "are you sure?"
He goes, "yeah, just do it."

You come crawling back here
because you don't have the balls

to finish what you started.

We did quite a number of
takes of me slapping Shea

and I think it was
very painful for him.

Deborah.
Hannah.

I always enjoyed the moments

that were the more
humane moments.

Like he's trying to name
his daughter.

Abigail.

I thought
that was interesting.

My favorite scene
was in season four

when Ron Livingston's
character lifts the veil

and she's just so blindsided.

You and I are here.

Together.

That's all that matters.

When she discovers
that he was playing her...

You get that?

That look of
sheer shock and horror

that was in her face
broke my heart.

And the way they shot it,
sort of up above

when she runs down the stairs

and then sort of almost
like an animal trapped...

I'll never forget it.

One of my favorite scenes is

Gyp's scene in season three

when all the gangsters
are sitting 'round

and he verbally
destroys everyone.

You smug, kike midget.

Creeping around like a fucking
dentist with the ether.

Why don't you watch
your fucking step?

Why don't you go sit
in the corner, short pants?

And then there's you.

Fucking breadstick
in a bow tie.

I really enjoyed that.

So what are you saying,
Mr. White?

About what?

About my buying, let us say,

1,000 cases of spirited...

Liquor directly from you
to our mutual benefit.

Cut out the middleman.

A lot of the fun
in getting cast on this

was the fact that
Terry Winter was involved.

You're not gonna turn down
the chance to work with Terry.

It just was a no-brainer.

When Terry comes down to set,
it's like dad coming down.

Everyone's
so well-behaved.

When I think back
of working with Terry,

I think of him
as a proud father

and his children are his words.

You do understand

I'm the only thing keeping
you from a lynch mob?

You ready...

For what happens here?

I turn up on the end of a rope.

When you work with Terry, be in
for some really intense writing.

Of course, I had already been a
fan of his work on "Sopranos"

and the script
of "Wolf of Wall Street."

I was really impressed
with his clear vision

for what "Boardwalk Empire"
could be.

And with his enthusiasm
and his vision and insight,

it was pretty obvious
he'd be the right showrunner.

Terry writing
at the height of his talent

and then Tim Van Patten,
who is a maestro...

It's as good as it gets.

Tim Van Patten
was the first person

I spoke to about joining me

as we embarked
on "Boardwalk Empire."

Gangsters and history

and, you know, ensemble.

There was no way
I wasn't gonna do it.

Tim, like Howard,

is so incredibly responsible
for how terrific this show is.

It wouldn't be a quarter
of what it is, you know...

Or wait, I said a half for Howard...
Also, Tim's the other half.

Okay, it would not be half of
what it is without Howard.

So the two halves of those guys
make up the whole.

I don't even need to be involved
in this. It's really... it's them.

Tim is everywhere at all times.
And thank goodness.

He's just one of those people that you
just know is keeping everything going.

Hey, enough with the bohunk cracks.
Name's Duffy now.

- What?
- I changed it.

I ain't Mickey Kuzik no more.

- Who's after you?
- Nobody.

- Then why Duffy?
- It sounds better is all.

A rose by any other name.

When you think of a TV show,

you pretty much think of,
you know, being in a studio

and occasionally going out
to a location.

"Boardwalk"
was the exact opposite.

My favorite location
was John's restaurant.

There we were, dressed
as Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano,

Arnold Rothstein, and Joe Masseria
sitting in the back of John's

as they might have done,
you know, those many years before.

Knowing that these characters
actually inhabited that space

and it was Joe Masseria's
headquarters, it was just fun.

Four deuces.
That was me favorite location.

It was really
this beautiful mini estate

in bedford-stuyvesant
that was once

the country home
of F.W. Woolworth.

It was just always fun in
there, do you know what I mean?

Not the fact that there was
scantily clad women everywhere,

but it was just a fun set,
it was a really fun set.

I really liked
being in Babette's.

I thought that was fun
when there was entertainment.

It was hard to concentrate on
what you were meant to be doing.

It's a very distracting show
to work on.

The sets have always
been perfect in the detail.

When you show up in the morning
and you see the amount of work

that's been put into that, it
really gets your blood pumping.

'Cause your blood's not always pumping
really hard at 5:00 in the morning.

The set design has been
quite amazing.

The detail
and the sense of place

and mood through place
has been really spectacular.

I'm always very cautious
of sort of

not overdesigning something
or overdoing something

'cause that isn't the point.

The point is
to support the story

and help reinforce
the characters.

By far my favorite set
was the Onyx Club.

That was another time
I would just pinch myself.

Just be like, "this is for me?

Really?
I'm a part of this?"

Wallpaper from England, curtain
hand-painted in New York.

- These chandeliers?
- Sconces.

They custom-made
in Paris.

I don't think the audience
will ever really know

the amount of detail they put
into making that Onyx Club.

It was beautiful.

Step right up, friends.
What you waiting for?

Lovely ladies
direct from Paris, France.

- Don't be afraid, fellas.
- That original boardwalk set

that we only had for three
seasons was pretty magical.

For the first two years, every
time I would turn the corner

and look up and see that thing,
it would take my breath away.

It was, I believe,
the largest standing set

in New York film history
since 1915.

When it was finished,

Terry and I were walking
down this thing

and we're going, "holy shit."

If we don't pull this off,
we're in trouble."

So...

I'd turn up on the boardwalk and
there'd be an elephant there.

Crazy, amazing extras.

Rudy the Congo creep.

Hoppy the frog boy.

Every time I was there,
it was such an experience.

When Marty first
came to the boardwalk,

started at one end...
It was like 300 feet to walk.

And I was there
throughout the building of

the whole thing from
the very beginning,

so I know where
all the secret spots are.

And he's going down the set and he's
looking and says, "oh, that's lovely."

That's lovely.
That's a good angle there."

I'm going,
"oh, he found that angle."

And then, "oh, that's lovely.
That's a lovely angle, too."

Went right to every spot.

I'm thinking,
"what am I gonna do?

I think so, too."

While you were on that
boardwalk, you were there.

The Ferris wheel, the lights,

the children
running up and down.

So beautifully designed,
created, painted,

and filmed exquisitely.

There's a broad
looking to see you.

She's been waiting
for over an hour.

She says it's urgent.

She's pregnant.

What?

- You met her last night.
- Last night?

She saw you talk or something.

Ah, ah,
the "temperaments" league.

One of the more exciting things about
starting a new season of "Boardwalk"

was seeing what suits you had
for the season.

We fit every leading character
and every background person.

Every... every single one
was fit to a T.

John Dunn has people in undergarments,
period undergarments.

We're not gonna see them,
but they're in them.

They're in them.

Costumes are very,
very important to me,

as most things are in film,

but costumes I have
a special attachment to

in creating character and time.

Sometimes I would be on set

and I would maybe
be feeling like,

"do I really have the right,
you know, Nucky vibe here?"

And then I would catch
just a glimpse of myself

in a reflection
and I wouldn't see me.

I mean, I would see
the character.

I was like, "oh, I'm okay.
I'm okay."

- I ran the odds on the way down.
- On what?

Whether you'd attempt
to kill me.

- What'd you come up with?
- 14-1 against.

We have wardrobe
people all helping dress

and tie the ties
and do the cuff links

and adjust the suspenders.

And Michael really took it
upon himself

to learn to do
all of these things.

Here I am in my room

and I'm using the time
to get dressed

as a way to get into character.

And then all of a sudden
you get a knock on the door,

"can I tie your bow tie?"

You know, my world is blown.

So in order to keep that momentum
and keep that vibe going,

I learned how to tie a bow tie.

Michael Stuhlbarg
tied a bow tie,

which is almost impossible,

during a take, perfectly.

I am lucky to remember
my lines.

The collars, the spats,

the cuff links,
the bow tie, the hats.

You dress for battle

in a way that I don't today.

I have a friend, a judge.

His daughter's wedding's
in a week.

I'd like to be able
to accommodate him and...

The 700 guests.

You haven't stockpiled?

Mm, all sold already.
I'm coming up short.

Obviously, there have been
many features

set during
the prohibition period.

But there have been
very few television series

and none which really dealt
specifically with Atlantic City.

As the new head of prohibition
enforcement in Atlantic City,

I do intend to take my duties
with the utmost seriousness.

- What?
- That was a joke.

I was joking. I thought you
might all appreciate that.

The scope of "Boardwalk"
was amazing

in terms of taking it
from the beginning

when there was
no organized crime,

through when we leave off,
the beginning of the syndicate.

There's a kind of
depraved warmth

that emanates from the show

and this strange comfort
that you find

in exploring
this dangerous world

through the lens
of these characters.

Most stories will take
fictional characters

and have them be the witness

to historical characters

whereas "Boardwalk"
does a kind of reverse.

- Meyer.
- Nucky.

- Hello.
- Been a while.

- A.R.'S funeral.
- Sad day.

Rest his soul.

This was a great opportunity
to explore characters

that people knew, but didn't
necessarily know as younger men.

You know, the opportunity
to meet Al Capone

as the guy who's driving the other
guy's car was irresistible for me.

I really loved them little
scenes where he's at home

with his boy or with his
wife or with his mother,

with his brothers around
the table eating dinner

and fighting on the floor
and stuff like that.

I really enjoyed that.

No, ma, they're horsing around.

What?!

What makes it work for me
as an audience member

is that it's not
just about gangsters.

It's about a whole world.

Along with all
the beautifully presented

explosions
and machine-gun fire,

we actually have shown
a lot more of American culture,

American history than maybe
people have noticed.

The dynamic between
men and women

was highlighted
in a number of different ways.

I come from a country where women
already have the right to vote.

Well, in this country,

we're simply trying to protect women
from the hard truths of life.

By denying them the right to
take a meaningful part in it?

I would hope that
people really appreciate

that world
of early 20th century

African-American history
that was explored.

How we worked
with each other

and how we interacted
with the white community.

- Chalky White, the proprietor.
- Welcome.

I'ma shout out
to chicken bone beach.

My hope always is that
we are delivering

smart, dark entertainment
for adults.

Thou hast fulfilled
the judgment of the wicked!

Part of doing a gangster show,

sadly, is that characters die.

And when characters die,

the boss has to call the actor
portraying that character

to tell them that they're
written off the show.

I was lying in bed next to
my girlfriend at 1:00 in the morning

and I got the sides and I turned to
her and I was like, "yeah, I die."

She was like, "what do you mean?"
She goes, "does it say that?"

I go, "no, it doesn't say it.
I just know I die."

A couple of days later,

I got a message on my phone
saying, "can you call Terry?"

And that's the phone call
everyone knows.

So I was like,
"I definitely die."

He goes, "Mike, you know, it's that
inevitable call that I hate making."

I says,
"how does he go?"

He says, "trust me. It's going
to be beautiful and graceful."

I said,
"that's all I can ask."

I think Terry felt worse
for me than I did.

He said, "it's just the way
we were moving the script."

I said, "okay, thank you.
I appreciate it," you know.

And I drank two bottles of
scotch and a gallon of...

No, I didn't do any of that.

When I called Bob Clohessy,

who played ward boss Jim Neary,

I said,
"Bob, it's Terry Winter."

He said,
"oh, I guess I'm dead."

I've always been a little
worried that he's gonna say,

"I think now,
you know, finally,

it's time that
you made this call."

But fortunately
that has not happened.

One day I did get a message

from Terry Winter's
assistant saying...

Asking if I could call back,
and he never called.

And I was like,
"oh, okay."

I remember one time
I didn't answer my phone

and I get a, "hey, it's Terry.
Give me a shout."

And I turn to my wife
and I said,

"it's been a nice run.
It's done."

Before I phoned him back,

I told my husband, you know,
"I think that's us done."

And I think I held the phone,
like, "hey, Terry"...

Went in my upper register,
"how you doing?"

And I called back and it was
something completely...

I think he was inviting me
to something.

I think he said, "you know,
listen, we'll do a steak."

Why don't we get a steak?"

"Yeah,
a steak would be great, man."

"You all right?" "Yeah, yeah.
I'm good. I'm good."

I don't think he had any idea,
you know, what...

What was happening at the
other end of the phone.

I wasn't sure, actually,

whether I was gonna go or not.

I may not be able to be
killed by a bullet,

but I could certainly
be killed by the pen.

Vinnie Piazza and, you know,
Stephen Graham would say,

"well, you can't kill me,
I'm Al Capone, I'm Lucky Luciano."

And I said, you know, "until we
do the episode where we reveal"

that you're actually an imposter and
the real Al Capone comes in and..."

I kind of was met
with these blank looks.

There have been a couple of
times when I arrived to set

and one of these scripts
that I'm not allowed to read,

I'm certain of it,
there have been

some dead Mickey Doyles in there
that have been rewritten.

Could you ask him
to put the gun away?

Please?

The first rule of
show business is to get off

the stage while
people still want more

and I think we're there.

It's really bittersweet

because it's been such a huge
part of my life for five years.

You must please come this way.

You can just feel it
in the air on set

that it's, you know,
very intense and very emotional.

I am really sad about it,

but I'm incredibly grateful
that I got to experience this

in the trajectory
of my own career.

I'm gonna miss it.
It's been such a great ride.

All good things, you know?

You look up and five years...

Five years of your life.
The end of an era.

It's part of your life
and it's been good.

Could be worse.

The ability to tell
the story over 56 hours

gave us the incredible luxury

of being able to explore
our characters,

their relationships
to one another, obviously,

and as a storyteller,
this is as good as it gets.

- sync and corrections by Zac -
- www.addic7ed.com -