Main Jack Huston and
Gretchen Mol were promoted to series regulars for the second season after appearing in several episodes during the first season. •
Steve Buscemi as
Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, the
corrupt and
Machiavellian treasurer of
Atlantic City who tries to keep his title and reputation intact. •
Michael Pitt as
James "Jimmy" Darmody, Nucky's former protege, a
WW1 veteran who tries to defeat Nucky at all costs. •
Kelly Macdonald as
Margaret Schroeder, Nucky's
mistress and lover trying to reconnect with her past. •
Michael Shannon as Nelson Van Alden, an
FBI agent who investigated but failed to capture Nucky
last season. He now manages stopping bootlegging in Atlantic City. •
Shea Whigham as Elias "Eli" Thompson, Nucky's younger brother and the
sheriff of Atlantic City who joins Jimmy's side to get rid of Nucky. •
Aleksa Palladino as Angela Darmody, Jimmy's newlywed wife, Tommy's mother and a
closeted and aspiring
artist. •
Michael Stuhlbarg as
Arnold Rothstein, a
New York gangster and
gambler who is a former rival of Nucky's. •
Stephen Graham as
Al Capone, Johnny Torrio's protege and Jimmy's friend who joins his side to further improve his career as a gangster. •
Vincent Piazza as
Charlie Luciano, Rothstein's calculating but hot-headed protege who joins Jimmy's side to improve his gangster career. •
Paz de la Huerta as Lucy Danziger, Nucky's former mistress who is now
psychologically tortured by Van Alden and pregnant with his baby. •
Michael Kenneth Williams as Albert "Chalky" White, Nucky's
business partner and the leader of Atlantic City's
Black community who faces trouble with the
KKK this season. •
Anthony Laciura as Eddie Kessler, Nucky's comedic and bumbling German
butler who suffers most of his boss's
verbal abuse. •
Paul Sparks as
Mieczyslaw "Mickey Doyle" Kozik, a
Polish-American bootlegger who joins Jimmy's side to get rid of Nucky and is also investigated by Van Alden. •
Jack Huston as
Richard Harrow, a half-faced WW1 war veteran and former
sniper acting as Jimmy's bodyguard and right-hand man. •
Gretchen Mol as Gillian Darmody, Jimmy's mother who joins his side to get rid of Nucky. •
Dabney Coleman as Commodore Louis Kaestner, Nucky's former mentor and Jimmy's illegitimate father who joins his son to get rid of Thompson.
Recurring •
Charlie Cox as Owen Sleater, an
IRA bomb-maker and
assassin who joins Nucky's side as his bodyguard and right hand-man. • Josie and Lucy Gallina as Emily Schroeder, Margaret's daughter and Teddy's younger sister. •
Bill Sage as Solomon Bishop, a Deputy
US Attorney who arrests Nucky for
election fraud. •
Heather Lind as Katy, Nucky and Margaret's new
housemaid who has an affair with Owen. • Declan and Rory McTigue as Theodore "Teddy" Schroeder, Margaret's son and Emily's older brother •
Anatol Yusef as
Meyer Lansky, a New York gangster who joins Jimmy's side alongside Luciano and Capone. •
Robert Clohessy as Alderman Jim Neary, one of Nucky's henchmen in his political machine who joins Jimmy's side. •
Kevin O'Rourke as
Edward L. Bader, the Mayor of Atlantic City and Nucky's business partner helping him to defeat Jimmy. • Brady and Connor Noon as Tommy Darmody, Jimmy and Angela's young son and Gillian and Louis's grandson •
Dominic Chianese as Leander Whitlock, the Commodore's longtime lawyer and executor of estate and will who also becomes Jimmy's mentor briefly. • Joseph Aniska as Agent Stan Sawicki, Van Alden's junior FBI agent and Clarkson's partner who investigates Mickey Doyle's warehouse. •
William Forsythe as Munya "Manny" Horvitz, a
Ukrainian Jewish gangster in
Philadelphia who's at odds with Jimmy Darmody and
Waxey Gordon. •
Glenn Fleshler as
George Remus, a German born bootlegger from
Ohio who creates and sells
medicinal alcohol and is Torrio and Capone's bootlegging partner. •
Erik LaRay Harvey as Dunn Purnsley, a
career criminal from
Baltimore who later teams up with Chalky White because of the prejudice they both face. •
Nick Sandow as
Waxey Gordon, Rothstein's bootlegging partner in Philadelphia and Manny's rival. • Adam Mucci as Deputy Halloran, Eli's bumbling and comedic deputy and second-in-command vying for the sheriff position. •
Julianne Nicholson as
Esther Randolph, a Deputy US Attorney sent by Harry Daugherty to investigate Nucky, replacing George "Solomon" Bishop and Charles Kenneth Thorogood. •
Christiane Seidel as Sigrid, Van Alden's new maid and his newborn daughter Abigail's nanny who falls in love with him. • Brandon Zumsteg as Brian Thompson, one of Eli's sons • David Aaron Baker as Bill Fallon, Arnold Rothstein and later Nucky Thompson's lawyer. • Matthew Broadley as Patrick Thompson, one of Eli's sons • Pearce Bunting as
Bill McCoy, a bootlegger, ship captain and partner of Nucky's who stays loyal to him and backs out of a deal with the Commodore. • William Hill as Alderman George O'Neill, another of Nucky's henchmen in his political machine who betrays him for Jimmy. •
Christopher McDonald as
Harry Daugherty, a political aide of President Harding and associate of Nucky's who tackles his election fraud case. • Natalie Wachen as Lenore White, Chalky's wife and Adeline, Maybelle and Lester's mother •
Tom Aldredge as Ethan Thompson, Nucky and Eli's
abusive father, now on his deathbed. This was Aldredge's final screen role before his real-life death the same year. •
Greg Antonacci as
Johnny Torrio, Capone's mentor and boss who runs the Four Deuces and is also business partners with Rothstein, Nucky and Remus. • Ed Jewett as
Jess Smith, Harry's aide and associate •
Charlie Plummer as Michael Thompson, one of Eli's sons • Ted Rooney as John McGarrigle, the leader of the IRA and Owen's mentor and boss who has a dispute with Nucky. •
Michael Zegen as
Bugsy Siegel, Luciano and Lansky's young associate in New York •
Stephen DeRosa as
Eddie Cantor, a comedian who is friendly with Nucky. • Christina Jackson as Maybelle White, Chalky and Lenore's oldest daughter, Adeline's older sister, Lester's sister and Samuel's fiancee •
Peter McRobbie as Supervisor Frederick Elliot, Van Alden, Clarkson and Sawicki's superior in the FBI. •
Geoff Pierson as
Walter Edge, an Atlantic City politician and associate of Nucky's. • Enid Graham as Rose Van Alden, Nelson Van Alden's
infertile and
estranged wife. ==Episodes==