(PCM) The news has just been revealed that the FOX breakout series “Gotham” has received an order for six additional episodes giving them a full season order for the series.
“Gotham” has without a doubt become one of the most buzzed about new series for the fall season. The show is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), “Gotham” follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering between good and evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time. The entirely new, untold chapter stars Ben McKenzie (“Southland,” “The O.C.”), Donal Logue (“Vikings,” “Sons of Anarchy”) and Jada Pinkett Smith (“Hawthorne,” “Collateral”).
We had a chance to catch up with several cast members from “Gotham” while out at the recent New York Comic Con to discuss the series.
Actor Robin Lord Taylor who play Oswald Cobblepot better known as The Penguin, on the series spoke to us about his character revealing that never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would be cast in the role. He said “I had no idea. I mean you just want to work. I have been an actor in New York City for awhile with commercials and tiny plays, whatever it takes that’s what you do. Lightning strikes and I still can’t believe I’m here.”
When asked what he is enjoying the most about portraying the character, Taylor tells us “I love the three-dimensional aspects because he is not just evil for the sake of being evil. They really try and show his motivations and everything he does is for a reason, granted it is for his own personal gain, but it is not gratuitous in any way.”
Taylor goes on to say, “He is constantly plotting and his who M.O. is to endear himself to everybody and then use those relationships against everyone else, so he can emerge from in between all of that and become the one in charge. That is his ultimate goal.”
On if he will face off again with Fish Mooney, Taylor replied “Oh, yes! We keep circling back into each others lives as we go on and that is my favorite thing. It is one of my favorite relationships that The Penguin has in this show. He has learned everything about this underground world in Gotham City her and there is almost this motherly kind of thing.”
He goes on to say, “There is respect there even though now they are adversaries. It is a really fun dynamic to play”.
Taylor also spoke about a few things he was surprised to learn about himself by playing this character by commenting “There are some strange parallels between Cobblepot’s journey and my own personal journey not in the sense of violence or anything like that! It’s just the fact that he is coming up in his world and I’m finding myself also coming up in my world and they have both worked at low status areas throughout their lives until this point so there is this weird parallel. I can identify with the character in that way.”
He jokingly adds “It’s a coming of age story!”
Taylor also revealed that Cobblepot can’s stay away from Gotham for too long, saying “It is his home and it’s all he knows. All of his ambition and personal drive is tied to the city.”
We also spoke with actor Sean Pertwee who plays Alfred Pennyworth in the series. As we know from the Batman comics and films Alfred is responsible for raising a young Bruce Wayne after his parents are killed. Pertwee comments “We are shooting chronologically which has really never been seen before. We are watching the development of the boy becoming the man and you will follow Alfred and Bruce’s relationship from very early on. It is interesting to be growing with this boy who is severely damaged”.
He also comments that Alfred has become “very much the enabler and I think that has been overlooked in almost every other version. If you think about it, before he goes off to Tibet or wherever else he goes, he interested in this and he’s been enabled by Alfred. He has this sense of value that has been nurtured by Alfred, as has every cast member of our show.
He adds ” Our show is the city of Gotham molding the person into the character they become and because Bruno (Heller) is such a great writer, psychology plays a huge role in his writing. It is based on realism.
Pertwee also revealed that his character really explodes by episode eight. He says “You really start to see our way of communicating”. Pertwee also shared with us a bit about what the audition process was like and what attracted him to the role, saying “Everything was kept completely under wraps. I went along to this thing and I didn’t know what it was, they picked me up and drove me to L.A. and they still wouldn’t tell me what it was .. they alleviate you of all your electronic devices and only once I was in the room did I get to see what it was and it was ‘Gotham'”.
He added, “I was thinking ‘Now, I really want it and now I’m terrified. I saw Bruno walking with Danny and I learned it was for Alfred. It was an honor and it is an honor I really don’t take lightly. He is a very loved character and he is very loved in my country of England as well, and I feel a great sense of responsibility for the character … to give him a proper base and learn where he comes from because he has issues. He has rage issues and guilt because he blames himself for the death of the Waynes because he wasn’t there and he finds out that he never signed on any dotted line to become a father finding himself in the extraordinary position of being the legal guardian for a multi-billionaire.”
Pertwee goes on to explain how he presented Bruno with a Bible he had written for the character of Alfred and his back story and Bruno absolutely loved it. Pertwee claims that his Alfred will definitely take many of the past stories into consideration. He reveals that a big part of his story was “concealment” in many shapes and forms.
Photography credit: Mike Sievila for PopCultureMadness.com
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