Fox’s Gotham TV series already has its Detective Jim Gordan in Ben McKenzie and its Detective Harvey Bullock in Donal Logue. Now four more castmembers have been added, including the young, skinny (?) guy who’ll play Oswald Cobblepot, AKA The Penguin.
Variety reports Robin Lord Taylor will play The Penguin, whom the press release describes as having “the brains of a chess grandmaster and the morals of a jackal, Cobblepot is a low-level psychopath for gangster Fish Mooney, and hides his sadistic lust for power behind an exquisitely polite demeanor.”
Taylor is already making jokes about the change in his notoriety:
Wayne family butler Alfred Pennyworth has also been cast. He’ll be played by “oh, that guy” actor Sean Pertwee, the son of Doctor Who‘s Third Doctor Jon Pertwee. The press release describes him as “a tough-as-nails ex-marine from East London”, adding that he’s fiercely protective of the young, recently-orphaned Bruce Wayne. Fox chairman Kevin Reilly described the Bruce Wayne character as “around 12” years old. He also said The Joker and Catwoman would be in the series. We’ll share that casting news as soon as we have it.
Playing Gordon’s fiance Barbara Kean is Erin Richards. She’s described as a “sophisticated emergency doctor [who] stands by her husband amid the corrupt world of Gotham.”
I guess this next part might be a spoiler about their relationship if you have zero knowledge of Commissioner Gordon. Playing Gordon’s eventual second wife is Zabryna Guevara. She’ll start out the series not as his wife but as his boss, Captain Essen. The press release says she “balances the two worlds of police and politics with a Machiavellian skill that’s as much corporate litigator as cop.” It failed to mention that she sleeps with her underlings. Now we know how Gordon rose up the ranks so quickly…
(Pictures via @RobinLordTaylor, Featureflash / Shutterstock, Helga Esteb / Shutterstock, and The Huntington.)