A masked man casts a spell on 'Boardwalk Empire' (AP)

Even with limited screen time on the character-packed, actor-rich "Boardwalk" (whose ensemble includes Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Gretchen Mol, Dabney Coleman and many more), Harrow last year had a similarly wrenching effect on viewers, haunting them as a combat-maimed conscience in his post-war America and as the ghoulish psychopath a war creates.

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Now, as the series returns for its new season on Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT, Huston has been upgraded from recurring player to a regular cast member, while his character promises to be even more galvanizing as a figure of both pathos and dread. Harrow made his entry into the "Empire" saga midway through last season, when he crossed paths with Jimmy Darmody (played by series star Michael Pitt), a burgeoning crime boss in 1920s, prohibition-era Atlantic City, N.J.

A masked man casts a spell on 'Boardwalk Empire' (AP)