History Characters / BoardwalkEmpireNewYorkGangsters

* HiddenDepths: Despite his bluster and his bad temper, Luciano has frequently shown that he is far from stupid. When he finally learns to reign his temper in and apply various lessons he's learned over the years, he becomes an exceptionally skilled opponent and shows exactly why he ended up one of the leaders of organized crime in the states.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: He's generally regarded as little more than a violent thug who will never amount to anything, even by those he works for. A cop tells this to Luciano in "Margate Sands", regarding Luciano himself:

* RaisedCatholic: Bows to the Almighty, but not even the Lord is safe from [[RageAgainstTheHeavens the wrath of good ol' Gyp]], who beats up one of His priests and robs His church.

* WrongGenreSavvy: He seems to believe that the real players in gangster politics are the more eloquent, cultured individuals that stand out among the brutal hoodlums that resort to violence to solve their problems. [[spoiler:Luciano and Lansky show him just how much culture and refinement matter in their world.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: For all of his harping on Lucky for going into business with Jews, and all his racial slurs thrown toward Rothstein in particular, he doesn't seem to have a problem cutting a deal with Rothstein for Luciano and Lansky's heroin, to pay off their debt to him. Of course, he's getting a hundred thousand dollars worth of heroin out of the deal.

* NonActionBigBad: While he's easily one of the most intimidating kingpins in the series, he is never seen hitting or shooting someone himself. However, given his position, as well as the respect and/or fear he is held by even the most menacing of mobsters, it is likely that this was not always the case, as he killed many to become a powerful mob boss.

* HopeSpot: He is smart enough to realize that he is about to be on a receiving end of YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness from [[spoiler: Luciano and Lansky]]. When Nucky takes interest in what is going on in New York, Tonino jumps at the opportunity to get Nucky's protection and offers to work for Nucky. Nucky seems to seriously consider the offer and Tonino seems to have saved himself once again. Then Tonino realizes that [[spoiler: their meeting took place in a restaurant with a memorial to Billie Kent, Nucky's mistress, who died when Tonino bombed Babbette's on behalf of Rosetti. Tonino is dead by the end of the episode.]]

A Harlem crime boss who introduces himself as a philantropist and "[[NotThatKindOfDoctor doctor of divinity]]". He has deals with Nucky and Chalky in Season 4.

* BigBad: Of Season 4 along with [[spoiler: Special Agent James Tolliver]] as part of a BigBadEnsemble. While Tolliver initially poses the most imminent threat to Nucky Thompson and his associates, Narcisse's scheme to expand his influence into New Jersey ultimately becomes a catalyst for instability in Atlantic City thereby bringing him into direct conflict with Nucky himself.

** He's also been compared to ''Series/BreakingBad'''s Gus Fring as both are soft-spoken and sophisticated but ruthless villains who operate illegally under the facade of legitimate business. Though a key difference between them is that Gus' politeness was [[AffablyEvil genuine]] whereas Narcisse's is an [[FauxAffablyEvil act]].

** And everyone gets the Mr./Mrs treatment, even if he despises them.

* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: For Dr. Narcisse, to raise the way a "real Libyian" should. [[spoiler: He's the one that made her orphanhood possible too.]]

* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Lanksy (and Rothstein's) blue.

One of Rothstein's two main enforcers, he instead relies upon his intelligence and guile (as opposed to brute force) to get ahead in the world of bootlegging. He's also got his own protege in Benny Siegel.

** Even moreso in "All In." During his [[RageBreakingPoint brutal beatdown]] of the Anti-Semite in the back alley, he keeps up a steady stream of Yiddish, barely raising his voice or altering his tone, even as he beats the guy into a bloody pulp.

* NotSoDifferent: His constant overtures to Luciano, who knows it's all hogwash and that Masseria would have him only as a pawn.

* NotSoDifferent: Tries to use the non-white/wasp/men from working class roots angle with Chalky, who doesn't fall for it.

->'''Played by''': Margot Bingham

* ItsAllAboutMe

* FromNobodyToNightmare: He starts off a street thug and spends much of his time as an enforcer, seen as just another low-level gangster by everyone around him. By the time the series ends, he's on track to becoming one of the most powerful crime bosses in the country.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A cop tells this to Luciano in "Margate Sands", regarding Luciano himself:

* SirSwearsALot: Nucky, himself no stranger to profanity, calls him on it.

* BeardOfEvil

* HolierThanThou

* ButtMonkey

* DeadpanSnarker: Almost always has a quip or remark handy, usually of the cutting and condescending variety and directed at someone doing something stupid.

* FatalFlaw: His greed, as well as his pride (shown in his "obsession with winning" as Nucky calls it).

* NotSoAboveItAll: He's generally level-headed but it's been shown quite a few times that Rothstein isn't as above pettiness, cruelty, personal grudges or desperation as he'd like to believe.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: He always speaks precisely, calmly and with impressive diction.

* HotBlooded

* FromNobodyToNightmare: It's odd to think that a man whose introduction consisted of Chalky taunting him for his age will be one of the most powerful men in the United States in only a few years.

* DeadpanSnarker

* EvilGenius: Possibly the smartest person in the whole series.

* HairTriggerTemper

* EvilGenius

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness

* AxCrazy

* DeadpanSnarker

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness

* DirtyCoward: Rosetti is good at killing unarmed and helpless individuals. This includes the driver who tries to fix his wheel, the portly Sheriff of Tabor Heights, the waitress he uses as a human shield, Tonino's cousin etc. When he really needs to man up, he runs. When Richard Harrow is massacring Rosetti's men, Rosetti runs and abandons his men (including Tonino) to die. Compared to Nucky, who an episode ago risked his own life to save his own butler.

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:As befits a guy who betrays most people he works with, treats his men horribly and displays no honor or bravery, he's stabbed in the back by one of his henchmen. To add insult to injury, Tonino apologizes while doing so and tells Gyp it's nothing personal, the kind of remark that sent Gyp into a rage all season.]]

* VillainousBreakdown:

* BerserkButton: While any number of things could set him off, he especially hates condescension.

* HairTriggerTemper: Gyp's the kind of man who could find an insult in a bouquet of roses.

* HotBlooded

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Not so much in season one, but in season 2, he and Lansky become this.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: He and Luciano are sliding into this in season 2.

[[caption-width-right:315:''"Spend your life walking over the world. Never find your place, 'cause there isn't one."'']]

->'''Played by''': Bobby Cannavale

->'''Played by''': Michael Zegen

* EvilSoundsDeep: Bobby Cannavale's natural deep voice adds a level of menace to Rosetti that wouldn't be otherwise possible.
* {{Expy}}: Rosetti's [[HairTriggerTemper hair-trigger temper]] and [[AxCrazy unbridled bloodlust]] is highly reminiscent of the [[TheSociopath psychopathic]] mobster, Richie Aprile from ''Series/TheSopranos''. He also resembles Tony Soprano's unstable captain, Ralph Cifaretto, given that he displays a surprisingly high level of intelligence often undermined by his own obnoxiousness, fancies himself [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy a natural-born "warrior" due to his Italian heritage]], and is depicted as being a sexual masochist.

* {{Expy}}: Rosetti's psychopathic behaviour is very reminiscent of Richie Aprile from ''Series/TheSopranos''. He also resembles Ralph Cifaretto, given that he displays a surprisingly high level of intelligence that is often undermined by his own obnoxiousness, fancies himself [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy as a natural-born "warrior" due to his Italian heritage]], and is depicted as being a sexual masochist.

->'''Played by''': Michael Stuhlbarg

[[folder:William "Bill" Fallon]]

* HotGuyUglyWife

* NotSoDifferent: Tries to use the non-white/wasp angle with Chalky, who doesn't fall for it.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Gyp likes to refer to Italians as conquerors and has showed contempt for the Irish, Jews and Italians who work for non-Italians.

->'''Played by''': Jeffrey Wright

* AppealToVanity: Gyp gets a second chance from Joe "the Boss" when he promises to make him Joe "the King".