As HBO’s epic drama Boardwalk Empire Season Four is released on DVD and Blu-ray™, we take a look back at one of Boardwalk’s most memorable characters - Richard Harrow (played by Jack Huston) – and the real life influences in his impressive story.

Richard Harrow was introduced back in Season One as a broken man from the war who becomes a hitman. From his very first moments with Jimmy Darmody (played by Michael Pitt), we saw the pair quietly bond over their respective battle scars, contributing to something very unique.

The haunting quality of his half-painted prosthetic face contributed to Jack Huston’s powerful performance and emphasised the disconnection Harrow experienced with the world around him. This area of suffering gave viewers fascinating insight into what it must have been like to return from the Great War with battle wounds and how to learn to cope with these visible scars.

A captivating bonus featurette on the Boardwalk Empire Season 4 Blu-ray & DVD beautifully covers how Richard Harrow’s character was conceived, brought to life and what it was like to deal with facial disfigurement in the 1920s. ‘Becoming Harrow’ includes interviews with the cast and crew, and the inspiration behind the real-life story that brought his character to the show.

Although Harrow is ultimately a hired assassin, he is a very likeable character due to his incredible humanity and sympathy. As a person, he is incredibly kind, generous and empathetic. And, when Harrow finally marries Julia (played by Wren Schmidt), they plan to leave Nucky and his life of crime behind to start a family in Wisconsin.

Catch up on the series to see if Harrow really is able to escape, as we all know that very few truly leave that life behind for good.

Re-live all the great moments from Boardwalk Empire Season 4 when it arrives on Blu-ray™ & DVD 18th August 2014. The Blu-ray & DVD boxsets contain hours of eye-opening extra content including exclusive interviews with the cast and featurettes such as ‘Scouting the Boardwalk’, ‘The Onyx Club’ and ‘Becoming Harrow’.

Boardwalk Empire Season 4 releases on Blu-ray & DVD on 18th August 2014, courtesy of HBO Home Entertainment.

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