Cardiac Surgery - The Boardwalk Journal Magazine

Why Anthony Laciura Is The Most Happy Fella
While Eddie Kessler writhes on a makeshift operating table
in the care of Chalky White and his future son-in-law,
a medical student who has just extracted a bullet from
deep inside Kessler’s side without providing the man with any pain
medication, Anthony Laciura couldn’t be happier. Laciura plays the role
of Kessler, butler to politician/gangster Nucky Thompson on HBO’s
critically acclaimed show, Boardwalk Empire.
“I wake up, and I think to myself, ‘Who could be this lucky?’”
explained Laciura, of the role, and career, that he has, almost to his own
surprise, stumbled into.
And while Laciura may have stumbled upon his later-in-life
acting career, he is no stranger to performing. In fact, Laciura has
an astonishing number of performances under his belt—over 800
performances at the Metropolitan Opera, in addition to appearances
with companies worldwide—and has been called a ‘singer of the
century’ by Terrence McNally. That’s right…the man we’ve come to
love as the hapless Eddie Kessler is none other than one of the most
gifted opera tenors in the world.
It’s an accolade he takes in stride. “It was a real gift,” Laciura
explained of his voice with a jovial laugh.
It’s that laugh—that deep, good natured laugh—that had me
smiling during most of our phone interview, held just two days after the
Boardwalk Empire episode that had viewers around the country cringing
during Kessler’s operation as well as wondering exactly who is this man as
he maintained his concern for Nucky while he fought for his own life?
With that same resonant laugh, Laciura talked to me about
the relationship between his character, Eddie Kessler, and Nucky
Thompson, played remarkably well by Steve Buscemi. “Eddie takes care
of him…he knows everything,” Laciura explained.
“My character is based on the real life of Lou Kessel,” continued
Laciura. “We know that Lou originally had the job of driving cabs. He
would pick Nucky up from Babette’s at 4am and take him back to the
Ritz and put him to bed. He always made himself available to Nucky…
Nucky then hired him…(Kessel) was always protecting him. It was
probably the first stable job he ever had,” explained Laciura. “In the
20’s, how many stable jobs did they have for immigrants? Lou wasn’t in
organized crime, but he knew that leaky lips sink ships, and he would
never…he had this loyalty.”
For those that haven’t yet gotten hooked on Boardwalk Empire—
and I have to admit, I was one of these people just a few short days
ago—the episode where Kessler is shot is one in which the underlying
relationship between Eddie and Nucky is explored. And what’s
discovered is not just that Eddie is loyal, which has been clear from
the outset, or that Nucky often takes advantage of him, but the level of
dedication and almost fatherly love Eddie has for Nucky. As Eddie lays
injured, he murmurs about work he has to do, and Nucky, in a moment
of near tenderheartedness, tells him to “take the day off ”.
And as Eddie Kessler thinks the world of Nucky Thompson—a
relationship gleaned from the real life relationship between Lou Kessel
and Nucky Johnson—so too does Anthony Laciura of Steve Buscemi.
“He is spectacular,” Laciura said of Buscemi. “Two and a half hours ago,
(Buscemi) called and was calling to tell me how good I was.” (Laciura
50 | The Boardwalk Journal | December 2012
By Da n i e l l e Da v i e s
Laciura as Eddie Kessler
had been about to call Buscemi to tell him the same thing when he
got the call.) “He was a former New York firefighter…he was there on
September 11th…he has surpassed himself by doing Nucky,” described
Laciura of working with the legendary actor.
And to think, Laciura never intended to be doing this. In fact, after
47 years of performing opera, Laciura had retired from performing. But
fate had another plan.
The story goes something like this: Martin Scorsese was looking
for someone to fill the role of Big Jim Colosimo, who was described
as ‘larger than life’. As Laciura explained, “What’s more ‘larger than
life’ than an opera singer?” Laciura and another colleague were
recommended to Scorsese. When Laciura’s physique was described to
Scorsese, they knew he wasn’t right for the part of Colosimo. On the
other hand, there was this role of a butler…
A screening of Laciura was sent to Scorsese, and from there,
Laciura went on to read for Martin Scorsese—it was his first
professional acting audition. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Laciura, who started entertaining at the age of four and singing
professionally when he was ten, is thrilled to be doing this show about
Atlantic City and her “varied history”. “You know that song, The Most
Happy Fella? I feel like that’s me,” explained Laciura. “(To have found)
at 58 years old, a whole new career, one I’ve wanted to do my whole life.
It’s more fun…it’s mystical.”
Laciura’s response when asked how he felt to have gotten this
opportunity possibly sums up his enthusiasm and joyfulness best—
“Bang! It’s incredible…a fantasy.”
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