Bright characters are one of those virtues thanks to which the series Underground Empire appealed to the audience. The greatest impression on the audience was made by Enoch Thompson. What is known about the treasurer of Atlantic City, who leads a double life and is endowed with unlimited power? The hero’s image was based on a real criminal, which makes his personality even more intriguing.
A few words about the plot
The series Underground Empire, whose key character is Enoch Thompson, helps viewers move to the States during the Prohibition era. The events of the TV show unfold in Atlantic City. This city is known as the capital of vices and pleasures. The ban on the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcoholic beverages makes life difficult for law-abiding citizens, but it opens up unprecedented opportunities for criminal elements.
Enoch, the protagonist of the series, has two faces. During the day, he acts as the city treasurer, while at night he assumes the guise of a cunning criminal. The connections at the very top allow the gangster to organize underground trafficking in illegal alcohol. However, Thompson is far from the only contender for leadership in this criminal business - competitors also dream of fast money.
Enoch Thompson: Prototype
The image of the protagonist of the underground empire television project is borrowed from real history. Enoch Naki Thompson - a character who embodied the features of a real criminal. The prototype of the treasurer of Atlantic City is Enoch Johnson, a man who was once a major political figure.
Terence Winter, executive producer of the series, insisted that the character should not be an absolute copy of his prototype. The real treasurer of the Atlantic City was a tall and burly man, which cannot be said about the performer of the role of Steve Buscemi. Terence considered that significant deviations from the life story of the famous criminal would make the story even more interesting and attractive to the audience, and he was not mistaken.
Hero Biography
Enoch Thompson, whose image was embodied by Steve Buscemi, differs from his prototype not only externally. The creators of the series decided that the hero should be ten years older. The real treasurer of Atlantic City was just born in 1883, while the character managed to become a scout already in 1881. From this it follows that the serial mafioso was born around 1873, or even earlier.
A happy childhood is what Enoch Thompson was denied. In the first years of his life, he was plagued by a stern father who despised sentiment. This upbringing helped Naki grow into a man of iron will. A smart young man liked Lewis Kestner. Mafiosi and the unspoken leader of Atlantic City took him under his wing. Thanks to the support of the gangster, Enoch first rose to the rank of sheriff, then won the post of treasurer of the city.
Naki’s time comes when his “guardian” makes a serious mistake and falls into the hands of the authorities, who had previously turned a blind eye to his crimes. Kestner is behind bars, and Thompson, who managed not to get “under the hand,” takes the boss’s chair. He also takes care of Lewis's illegitimate son, Jimmy. Enoch feels guilty before the young man and intends to make him his successor. However, masterful Jimmy is difficult to manage, especially after he learns the secret of his birth.
A family
Did Enoch Thompson manage to find happiness in his personal life? The biography of the character indicates that many years ago he lost his wife and son. First, an unknown illness took the life of his heir, then laid hands on her husband, who could not cope with grief.
Events that happened in the past make mafiosi sympathetic to future mothers and babies. Of the relatives, Thompson was left with only his father hating him and his younger brother envious of him.
Love, relationships
Enoch, like many dignitaries of Atlantic City, did not refuse to communicate with corrupt women. For several years he met with one of them - Lucy Danziger. This went on until Naki was tired of the tantrums of her friend's life, as well as her attempts to create a real family with him.
The chill to Lucy Thompson was finally helped by an acquaintance with Margaret Schroeder. A respectable Irish woman turned to the city treasurer for help, she had serious problems with her husband, who beat her and did not want to work. By order of Enoch, the exuberant spouse Margaret, due to the beating of whom she had a miscarriage, was eliminated, and she herself became his girlfriend. Schröder, the law-abiding person, wasn’t just getting used to the fact that she was dating a criminal, but the sincerity and kindness that she saw in Naki made her stay with him.
This is the basic information about the brightest character of the Underground Empire, which is Enoch Thompson. Biography, photos of the prototype and the performer of the role - all this can be seen in the article.