It’s 1924 and Nucky Thompson and company are back for a fourth season of HBO’s hit drama, Boardwalk Empire. And judging by the first couple episodes, this season promises to be as violent, dramatic, and captivating as the last.

At the center of the action is gangster Arnold Rothstein (played by Michael Stuhlbarg), who was one of the most powerful mobsters in the country during the time.

Viewers got a deeper look into this complicated character during the third season of the award-winning series (Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Third Season is now available on DVD, Blu-ray with HBO Select, and digital download).

Stulhbarg, 45, chatted with Parade.com about what separates Rothstein from the other gangsters, what life is like on the Boardwalk Empire set, and more.

On the uptick of gangster violence during Season 3.

“There’s a character that’s introduced at the top of the season played by Bobby Cannavale called Gyp Rosetti, and he brings with him a kind of menace that seems to filter through the entire season. I don’t want to give too much away for the people who are watching now, but there’s a confrontation between his character and mine, and there’s a lot of mixed allegiances that go on throughout the season. The violence does escalate. It seems as though Nucky has turned a kind of corner. He’s made the commitment after what happened with Jimmy during the second season, that he’s sort of embracing who it is he really is, and I think that has ramifications all around him, as well as for the rest of us. We see a Nucky perhaps that we haven’t necessarily seen before. Less a politician, and more someone who is embracing his new identity. I get a strong taste of both characters, both Gyp and Nucky, and try to do business with them, and there are consequences to those things.”

On what makes Rothstein different from the other gangsters.

“I don’t think he ever thought of himself as a gangster. And I think the generation below him, the Meyer Lanskys and the Lucky Lucianos, and many other people whom he mentored, he taught them to conduct themselves as gentlemen, and to consider what they were involved in as business. He felt that there was, and shouldn’t be, any restrictions in terms of ethnicity in regards to business. He felt like there’s no reason one shouldn’t do business with anyone. It’s about getting ahead and making a buck. So I think he thought of himself as much of a businessman as anybody in New York at the time—and quite a successful one.”

On what goes on behind the scenes of the Boardwalk Empire set.

“Making television is difficult. Making any art is difficult. But we’re on a schedule, and you’re usually allotted one day to come in and deliver the goods, so to speak, so you have to be as prepared as possible. With television, sometimes the writing is continuous and happening at every moment, and you’ll get new pages at the last moment. We have to incorporate that into what it is that we’re doing. So being on the set, on the day that you show up, it—I find it’s important to be ready when you get there. And to allow for your own ideas of what a scene is going to be, discussion with that episode’s director. It’s very often a different director every episode you show up.

“I often find in doing tragedy, or doing very serious material, that there’s a level of anxiety that builds that often leads to laughter, in some cases. In between takes, there can often be a lightness. Plus, the days are long, so when you’ve shot a scene from the fifth, the sixth, the seventh different angle, and you’re trying to help another actor get through a particular moment, and in some cases, you haven’t had a lot of time with the text, you know, there’s a kind of delirium that sometimes sets in on very long days! And that’s part of the fun.”

On what he’s learned about America during the ‘20s.

“It’s amazing to think of how these people comported themselves with the clothes that they wore. I’ve never really thought of it this way before, but you know, nowadays, it’s the rare bird who dresses up and shows themselves off every day. There’s something to them waking up every day, and the ritual of the clothing that they put on, that shows the world around who it is that they want to be seen as, whether it’s perhaps the more colorful character of Nucky in some of the earlier seasons, and the colors that he put on, or the extraordinary garments that the women get to wear. Life wasn’t as long in those days, you know? Diseases were rampant, and people seized life in a way that we don’t necessarily do as much today, because we think, ‘Oh, if we’re lucky and take care of ourselves, maybe we’ll live to be 90 or 100.’ These people didn’t think that way. They didn’t know when they were gonna die. We don’t know either but—it’s just that the life span was shorter. So I think there’s something to that aspect of showing up every day and comporting yourself as, ‘This is who I am today. This is what I’m going to show the world.’ And oftentimes, how they showed themselves can tell you as much about who the person was.”

On being a loyal viewer of the show himself.

“Absolutely. I only am privy to my own scenes, so if I get the chance to read the entire script, which I really try to do, then I know where I fit into the story. But on the whole, I want to see what everybody else is doing because it’s such an extraordinary group of actors and artists making this piece every year. And I can’t wait to see what it turns into. I’m always surprised, I’m always shocked, I’m always delighted. And it’s always changing—this year is no different. It’s such an exciting year, Season 4.”

On his favorite storylines.

“Hard to choose, it’s like choosing between your children in some ways! We’ve become a family, so whether it’s the complete transformation that Jack Huston achieved as Richard Harrow, or the menacing humor that Stephen Graham as Al Capone brings, the gentility or the freakiness and scariness that Gretchen Mol brings to Gillian as well—I mean, everyone has something, and Steve Buscemi is a constant revelation to me. It’s so amazing to watch his journey, to see how this character change. I think he’s been remarkable in his juggling of what they’ve thrown at him. But it’s a remarkable group of actors, and I’m honored to be among them. I’m having a blast.”