Michael Shannon Talks BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Academy Award nominated actor Michael Shannon plays the 'good-guy' on HBO's Boardwalk Empire and he recently spoke on how his character Agent Nelson Van Alden has his work cut out for him.

"It's a real David vs. Goliath situation. For Christ's sake, they're office is a post office. There's not a huge force of people working on this. Certainly, one of the themes of the show is 'Can virtue survive in Atlantic City, or does it corrupt everything, everyone that steps across its borders?" said Shannon.

So far we've seen that Van Alden is almost robotic in his approach to hand out justice enforcing prohibition onto the underground crime syndicate but we're also seeing him border on obsessive and downright creepy with his interest in a recently widowed witness to a murder he's investigating.

"First of all, I think she's very vulnerable. I think Van Alden, in an ideal world would be, to himself and other people, a kind of angel, and nothing would make him happier than to be the person that protects Margaret from all the corruption and evil in the city," said Shannon.

Series creator Terence Winter also says that Van Alden's character will undergo some huge plot twists in the final few episodes of Boardwalk Empire's first season that the audience won't see coming.

Shannon, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the only 'sane' person in Revolutionary Road, says he jumped at the opportunity to be a part of HBO's newest crime drama.

"You know, I like to roam and do different projects and work with different people. I was certainly hesitant for a long time to approach being a regular on television. But there are some qualities that are different with working with HBO. I actually wound up enjoying it a tremendous amount, even moreso than I thought," said Shannon.

Boardwalk Empire is set in the 1920's prohibition era and centers around Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, a racketeer and criminal based on a real life counterpart and played by Steve Buscemi. The show was adapted from the novel Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City and also stars the likes of Michael Pitt, Steven Graham and Michael Shannon. The show airs Sunday nights only on HBO.