Boardwalk Empire (TV Series)

Home (2010)

Michael Pitt: James 'Jimmy' Darmody

Quotes 

• James 'Jimmy' Darmody : Did you serve, Liam? In the war?

  Liam : I had rheumatic fever.

  James 'Jimmy' Darmody : Three years. France, mostly. It's almost impossible to describe the horror. It's a living... waking... nightmare. There was a soldier, a German. Him and his men tried to attack our position in the Argonne forest. It was nighttime. While he was trying to climb through some barbed wire, I shot him twice, once in the stomach, once in the neck. He slumped over the barbed wire, and no matter what he did to try and wriggle free, it just got worse for him. I left him there like that for days, listening to him moaning, crying, "Mutti! Mutti! Mutti!" That's German for "Mama! Mama!" That's what he kept saying. The curious thing is that despite the fact that his situation was utterly hopeless, he didn't wanna die. I offered to kill him several times, but he just kept fighting, like some miracle would befall him and get him out of his predicament. We hold on so desperately to life. Some people feel, certainly in that soldier's situation, that being alive is much, much worse.

  [long pause] 

  James 'Jimmy' Darmody : I'm gonna go now. I don't wanna ever see you again.

  Liam : [terrified]  You won't.

• Richard Harrow : You have a gun under your jacket.

  James 'Jimmy' Darmody : It's a Colt 1903.

  Richard Harrow : I have one of those. And a Smith and Wesson Triple Lock. A Roth-Steyr, a Webley 455, a Mauser 1914, very small. Enfield 1917, 30-06, telescopic sight. Very accurate, accurate up to 700 yards. But I like the Colt in the hand. How do you use yours?

  James 'Jimmy' Darmody : How do you think?

  Richard Harrow : You use it to kill people?

  [pause] 

  Richard Harrow : It's very good for that.