Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk Empire: Gretchen Mol Reflects on "Cathartic" Role, Legacy

Gretchen Mol (Millers in Marriage) spoke with Bleeding Cool about HBO's Boardwalk Empire, the show's legacy, and her "cathartic" role.

It's one thing as an actor to get cast in an ensemble drama like HBO's Boardwalk Empire, but it's another to stand out among the sea of talent like Gretchen Mol did on the Terence Winter-created series as Gillian Darmody, who is the mother of Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) and Enoch "Nucky" Thompson's (Steve Buscemi) longtime friend. Gillian was an orphaned young, and raised in a foster home in Trenton, New Jersey, moving to Atlantic City at the age of 12. As she struggled growing up as a young mother, she worked her way up as a showgirl, prostitute, and madame of the Artemis Club brothel in Atlantic City. While promoting her work in her latest drama for Republic Pictures/Paramount's Millers in Marriage, Mol spoke to Bleeding Cool to reflect on her time in the prohibition crime drama that ran from 2010-2014.

Boardwalk Empire Star Gretchen Mol on "Cathartic" Experience Playing Gillian Darmody

Bleeding Cool: What is your fondest memory, and how do you feel about the legacy you've built as Gillian in 'Boardwalk Empire?' It's been a little over 10 years since the series' end, and upon reflection, how do you feel the mark you've left on that show?

Well, I can't speak to the mark I left, but it left a mark on me. Certainly, that was one of the best "gigs" ever. I'm so grateful in my career that I had that moment. It was five years of my life and employment, first of all, which was nice. That was through the time of having children being very young. What a wonderful outlet to have the beautiful writing that I had. At that time, the wind beneath the wings of a show like that where there was so much support for the beautiful costumes, amazing directors, actors, and so much love. The level felt was so high, and the hard part is, afterward finding that level. You [know a show is] quite good, and its things [after] are going pale in comparison. Also, having a character that was so far away from who I am in a way that I could just let it rip, I had so much. Once I realized she was capable of anything – it was like all bets are off. It was really cathartic to play Gillian Darmody.

Boardwalk Empire, which also stars Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Pax de la Huerta, and Michael Kenneth Williams is available to stream on Max. Millers in Marriage, which also stars Morena Baccarin, Juliana Margulies, Minnie Driver, Patrick Wilson, Benjamin Bratt, Edward Burns, Campbell Scott, and Brian d'Arcy James is available in theaters and digital.

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