Ed Helms

I think most people assume they know what prohibition is. Liquor was made illegal. It was a big mistake. There was a bunch of mobsters and Tommy guns. And then it got repealed. You made this incredible show, Boardwalk Empire, which What drew you to Prohibition in the first place? I mean, I could make an obvious leap from the Sopranos to Prohibition era gangsters being the overlap.

I think most people assume they know what prohibition is. Liquor was made illegal. It was a big mistake. There was a bunch of mobsters and Tommy guns. And then it got repealed. You made this incredible show, Boardwalk Empire, which What drew you to Prohibition in the first place? I mean, I could make an obvious leap from the Sopranos to Prohibition era gangsters being the overlap.

But was there anything about that era in particular that felt so ripe for storytelling? Yeah.

But was there anything about that era in particular that felt so ripe for storytelling? Yeah.

This is so insane. This was all under like official government activity. They built a apartment in San Francisco that had a glass mirror where he could sit there and watch. And then they would drug these customers. And he was just sort of taking notes and God knows what else behind this double mirror. And this was all in the name of science.

This is so insane. This was all under like official government activity. They built a apartment in San Francisco that had a glass mirror where he could sit there and watch. And then they would drug these customers. And he was just sort of taking notes and God knows what else behind this double mirror. And this was all in the name of science.

This is so insane. This was all under like official government activity. They built a apartment in San Francisco that had a glass mirror where he could sit there and watch. And then they would drug these customers. And he was just sort of taking notes and God knows what else behind this double mirror. And this was all in the name of science.

This is so insane. This was all under like official government activity. They built a apartment in San Francisco that had a glass mirror where he could sit there and watch. And then they would drug these customers. And he was just sort of taking notes and God knows what else behind this double mirror. And this was all in the name of science.

If it allows me to go hella-skiing, then yeah, I'm hella on board.

If it allows me to go hella-skiing, then yeah, I'm hella on board.

If it allows me to go hella-skiing, then yeah, I'm hella on board.

If it allows me to go hella-skiing, then yeah, I'm hella on board.

It is truly a wild moment in American history. The sort of moral panic on one hand, and then there's the anti-German sentiment kind of like flaring up. And then that gives the teetotalers ammunition to... Go after the brewers. Yeah, to go after all these German brewers.

It is truly a wild moment in American history. The sort of moral panic on one hand, and then there's the anti-German sentiment kind of like flaring up. And then that gives the teetotalers ammunition to... Go after the brewers. Yeah, to go after all these German brewers.

So Nucky Thompson is a character that that was played by Steve Buscemi. How close to the real Nucky Johnson was he?

So Nucky Thompson is a character that that was played by Steve Buscemi. How close to the real Nucky Johnson was he?

So I feel like Steve Buscemi's casting was such a stroke of genius for Boardwalk Empire because it is against type and in a way that. You know, can this guy who's who's sort of a slight build, not an intimidating presence and whose face to me just has a sort of kind of warmth and sadness and a sort of tenderness? Can this guy carry a mob show?

So I feel like Steve Buscemi's casting was such a stroke of genius for Boardwalk Empire because it is against type and in a way that. You know, can this guy who's who's sort of a slight build, not an intimidating presence and whose face to me just has a sort of kind of warmth and sadness and a sort of tenderness? Can this guy carry a mob show?

Tell me a little bit about why Steve Buscemi was so perfect for Boardwalk Empire.

Tell me a little bit about why Steve Buscemi was so perfect for Boardwalk Empire.