Season 4 was a big one for Willie Thompson (Ben Rosenfield) on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Struggling to figure out his life and making some huge mistakes along the way, the eldest nephew of gangster Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) became a prominent player on the series.

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Recently, Rosenfield (Greetings From Tim Buckley, A Most Violent Year) sat down to discuss his experience on the program (featured below). Rosenfield noted that the position drama was his first television gig and earning the role was no easy feat. He auditioned four times before producers chose him for the part and scoring the role was a dream come true for the young actor.

"It was my favorite show pretty much," admitted Rosenfeld, "It was the only show I was watching on TV at the time."

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The experience on set seemed to live up to the hype. "It was really exciting. I had never done any TV before I didn't know what to expect at all," explained the actor, "It was very professional... everyone works incredibly hard."

Rosenfield understood the standard he had to meet in joining the cast, adding that most of them had been in the business since before he was born. "They've been doing this for longer than I've been alive," he said.

As for Season 5, Rosenfield wasn't giving away any secrets. Even if he did, the actor knew that nothing is ever a guarantee in television.

 "It's not as if you have an idea as to what is going to happen to your character throughout the course of the season," he explained, "You really just know an episode or two."

Boardwalk Empire returns to HBO for a fifth and final season Sunday, September 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.