48 Characters Found in Pop Culture That Are Based on Real People

Steve Buscemi’s character in Boardwalk Empire is a conniving, murdering bootlegger who will do anything to keep his power. This character, named Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, is very obviously based on the infamous Enoch “Nucky” Johnson. The real-life Nucky was a New Jersey politician and crime boss who controlled Atlantic City from the 1910s to the early 1940s.

While Buscemi’s storyline is much more dramatic than Nucky’s real life, he was still a powerful kingpin who ruled Atlantic City during Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties. While there’s no evidence that Nucky had anyone offed directly or indirectly, he got charged with tax evasion and served four years in prison.