When Gotham was first announced, probably the biggest fan controversy was not over the concept, or the casting, or anything else. It was about Ben McKenzie’s notably bare upper lip. So, in the midst of a serious Q&A where actor-ly things were discussed, we asked him about it. Here, verbatim, is what he had to say.
I had lengthy conversations with Bruno and Danny about everything else. Lengthy, lengthy conversations about all sorts of things, meeting after meeting. And then as soon as it hit the internet that I was doing it, it felt like all anyone wanted to talk about was whether I would have a mustache or not, and I thought about ringing Bruno and being like, “Uh, one last thing I forgot to—” We just literally never talked about it.
And then I brought it up to him and he goes, “No, that would look ridiculous on you. We’re not doing that.” You know, it’s 20 years before he can grow into the maturity and wisdom that it takes to sport a mustache, and that’s the line we’re sticking to. Maybe 20 years from now the mustache will feel, you know, earned.
For the record, I can grow the mustache.
We never doubted you could, Ben. After all, we have proof:
So, there you have it. Gordon will have his ‘stache on Gotham when he’s earned it. You can see how he’s doing tonight, with the quite good pilot airing at 8pm.
