Actor Ben McKenzie Discusses Working on Gotham
It's only a few days away before we finally get to see the season premiere of FOX's new show, Gotham, based on the characters and city from the DC Universe. Premiering on Monday, September 22nd (8:00-9:00 ET/PT), there's a ton of excitement and build-up for this show. In a phone conference with numerous media outlets, we talked to actor Ben McKenzie, who plays James Gordon on the show about the upcoming series.
Joanna Wolf opens up the conference and reminds us of the air dater and it gets turned over Ben for questions.
The first questioner asks what attracted him to the role and genre.
Ben says "in all honesty, I worked with Bruno Heller last year. He called me this year and written the part of Jim Gordon with you in mind." He really wanted to work with Bruno since they see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. "It's exciting to be a part of this mythology that's been around for 75 years but a bit daunting." Bruno jokingly reassured him in the worst case scenario it would only mildly fail.
The next question is about the differences in being a law officer in Southland compared to Gotham.
"The overall similarities is in law enforcement officers. The sense of truly wanting to uphold a sense of morality" as well as making sure the laws are upheld. In Gotham, it's a bit more fantastical and approachable. "It's not so starkly drawn. We wanna feel free to take liberty with tactical stuff and make it a throwback to more of a noir."
The next question asks about Robin Taylor playing Penguin.
"He's a talented guy." Ben talks about the scene where Gordon is walking Oswald Cobblepot to the pier and almost shooting him. During the scene, he kept grabbing his shirt collar. After four hours of filming, Robin asks Ben to grab the collar more Robin opens his shirt a bit, revealing his chest, which is bright red. "His charm comes through on scene and you kinda love this little weasely henchman. That's exactly what we'd like to do with all the villains in this."
The next question is about the famous Jim Gordon mustache.
"I had lengthy conversations about everything else, but as soon as it hit the Internet, all anybody wanted to talk about was that." Bruno thought it would look a bit ridiculous to see a young Gordon with a mustache. It's 20 years before he can grow into the maturity and wisdom as a mustache. The mustache is more a mark of maturity than a facial accessory. "For the record, I can grow a mustache."
The next person asks if Ben feels that his work on Batman: Year One (Ben did the voice for Bruce Wayne/Batman) has given him better insight.
"I'd like to think do. I was always a fan of it before I did the voice." It pulled him in a bit closer and when Gotham came about, he got sent a bunch of literature including GOTHAM CENTRAL and LONG HALLOWEEN. It's all coming out of the comics. "You pick certain reference points and work with your fellow actors" to play their objective. "There's a certain heightened style to it"
Up next, it's mentioned that Ben received a head injury during filming. He's asked about his stunt work on the show and how much he does.
"I try to handle as much as I can, as much as I feel comfortable with." Action is a big part of the show However, his character handles these action scene very differently. "If Jim is getting in a fight he wants to get out of it as swiftly as possible.. There hasn't been a lot of wire work yet." They wanted Gordon portrayed as an old-school hero. He has to use what he's got and occasionally he has to lose.
The next person wants to know who Ben's favorite Batvillain is and will we see villains that are less human?
"Because he's front and center in the pilot, I'm excited for people to see Penguin. I've always liked the Riddler," even though he says not a lot of people like the character. "I find him fascinating." While Bruno Heller stated in the last interview that Killer Croc is not out of the question, Ben states that "there's been no talk, thus far, of the non-human Batman villains. It's early days. We're only 8 episodes into filming." As the show grows, expect the cast to.
Ben is asked about his favorite episode or storyline.
"I'm not sure how much I can spoil. We've come to a place at the 7th episode where things have come to a head." He goes on to say they have a great team of writers. "We've laid the groundwork for a lot of characters." You can walk down any alley in Gotham and see someone who could become a hero, villain, or be killed. "That's an exciting maze to walk through to."
The next person wants to know about his interactions with other actors.
"Donel [playing Harvey Bullock] and I had never met before but there are a lot of 2 degrees of connection between us I worked with his sister on Southland." She was fantastic. That was a real easy connection. They reached out to each other to make it as good as they can. They were relying on the old mismatch cop trope. They wanted to make it endearing and authentic. "We have a great cast up and down the line. I would lie to you if we didn't, but we do. We should have a great show and it's a great environment to work in." Ben goes on to talk about David Mazouz, who plays a young Bruce Wayne. "He is a real terrific actor. He listens, which is incredibly hard thing to teach anyone. It's something that I struggle with now. It's the hardest thing to do on camera, to listen to how another actor listens to you in that moment. He's perfect for Bruce. He's more calm than I am."
Up next, Ben is asked about some of the acting challenges for this show.
"The initial challenge is to not let the mythology and the degree to which Batman is permeated. Not let that overwhelm what, at the end of the day, is just an acting gig. You have to treat it like any other. I believe, in my school of acting, is that there is no character." There's the script and the cast and everyone else. "If you cast 1000 different Jim Gordons, you get 1000 different Jim Gordons." If we don't understand and believe his point of view, there's going to be trouble. He can't be blown away with the corruption. As long as he understands how bad people can be to each other and understands what is right in wrong, you can go from there. As it continues, he can become more and more surrounded by the powers that be and his oral compass can be thrown off. "He will have to make deals with the devil."
The next person asks Ben: What makes a career in this industry rewarding?
"I need to be proud of what I'm making" He was concerned with something this big that they'd lose the through-line of a guy trying to clean up a city and bringing justice to Gotham.
The next question deals with relationships with female characters in the show.
"It's all just whoever is battling for power that is fallen. Fish Mooney is really good at it. She's really tough, really smart, and uses her sexy appeal to get what she wants. Jada [Pinkett Smith] kills it... Zabryna [Guevara] as captain of the GCPD, she has to answer to a lot of people" including the mob. "Sometimes her hands are tied." She wants to support her detectives and overtime, Gordon earns her respect. Down the line, she'll put her self out on the limb to help Gordon There's a lot of surprising twists and turns.
Finally, Ben is asked why comic book shows and movies have taken off in the last year?
"I don't know. I guess I would say, 75 years into Batman, comics have become American folklore." It evolves, generation to generation, to fit the culture. We can all relate to someone fighting for us.
Make sure to check out the series premiere of Gotham on FOX, Monday, September 22nd (8:00-9:00 ET/PT).
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