Fox's "Gotham" may not have the entertaining action or grounded realism of "Daredevil." It may lack the wink-wink sense of humor of "Arrow" and "Flash" or world building opportunities of "Agents of SHIELD." But what "Gotham" does have are actors that make familiar characters all their own, putting new spins on old faces. Nowhere is this more evident than Robin Lord Taylor's Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. Penguin.
Prequels like "Gotham" are very difficult spaces to navigate as an actor. On one hand, you have to honor the beloved source material that came before or risk the wrath of rabid fanboys (have you seen the Internet lately? It's not pretty). On the other, you have to add nuances that hint at the fan-favorite to come all while giving audiences enough new wrinkles to keep it fresh (the anti-Anakin Skywalker treatment). It's a high wire act even Dick Grayson would struggle to pull off. Yet Taylor emerged from "Gotham's" inaugural season as its breakout star thanks to his careful balance of old and new.
"In terms of inspiration all of us on the show are very blessed to have 77 years worth of material to draw upon," Taylor told HNGN on a media conference call. "The comics have been incredibly helpful to all of us, just in understanding these characters and where they're coming from. Those have a huge influence on me. In terms of performance, I look to my acting idols, the people I grew up watching such as John Malkovich and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both who in terms of their acting style and how they approach characters with a dark side, also found a sympathy within those characters. That's something that's definitely influenced me."
Penguin is a character with starry eyes and lofty ambitions, yet Taylor isn't above low-brow tricks to nail the character's distinctive mannerisms. The actor walked around with a bottle cap in his shoe while shooting season one to emulate Cobblepot's iconic penguin-like limp. For season two, which premieres tonight on Fox at 8:00 PM ET, he's downgraded to a couple of coins.
The change is a fitting one though. If heavy lies the head that wears the crown than weary should the feet be that carry the King. Penguin ended season one by eliminating his enemy Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) and engineering the downfalls of Carmine Falcone (John Doman) and Sal Maroni (David Zayas), leaving him as the last man standing atop Gotham's criminal hierarchy. But as every sports fan will tell you, winning the title is one thing, defending it is another.
"[Penguin] set out to achieve something on the first season and did it," Taylor said. "He became his own boss and his own man and proclaimed himself the King of Gotham. But as everything in Gotham city, it's not easy. Now he's achieved what he wants, he's faced with whole new set of issues in terms of how to maintain that and stay on top. I don't know if he's prepared for that and the whole season will be about challenging him and his intellect, basically everything he has, in order to stay the King of Gotham."
Taylor plays Cobblepot with a twinkle in his eye but a dagger behind his back. In every scene, it feels as if his character knows something you don't, like a top notch poker player suckering you into a trap. Taylor brings a manic and frenetic energy to the screen, guzzling scenery in the series' showiest role. This sharply contrasts protagonist Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), who is the dutiful moral authority of the show; the straight man, if you will.
Movie fans who complain that Superman is too much of a boy scout clearly haven't seen Gordon's collection of merit badges. It's hard to build a consistently compelling series around McKenzie's relatively flat character (by no fault of the actor). As a result, showrunner Bruno Heller plans to pair him with Penguin even more this season, pushing the former to his moral limits while providing the latter with a dynamic frenemy.
"I think part of Gordon's growth and his transformation as a character is basically reconciling himself with the fact that he has to align himself with certain unsavory players in Gotham in order to get what he wants done," Taylor explained. "[The partnership] could go on for a while because he is beginning to realize he needs Penguin and Penguin realized in the first season that he needed Gordon in order to get what he wants done. The interesting change is that in the first season they were coming at each other differently, Penguin was looking at Gordon as someone he can trust and could be a friend, but after what happened in the first season finale, with Gordon basically leaving him to die in the hospital, the relationship is much more strained. But they do need each other in order to get things done, only now they are both very wary of one another. That's a really interesting development between the two characters."
"Gotham's" procedural format in season one felt a bit too formulaic and even downright silly at times (read: "Spirit of the Goat"). But season two is being rebooted as more of a serialized drama that Heller himself has dubbed the "Rise of the Villains."
While the relationship between Cobblepot and Gordon will take center stage, other existing baddies such as Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) and Joker (Cameron Monahan) will enjoy their time in the spotlight as newcomers Theo (James Frain) and Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas) arrive to challenge Penguin for the throne.
Heller's goal is to transform Taylor's Cobblepot into the leading villain and the show's catalyst for major happenings. It's a bold strategy, but perhaps hitching your wagon to your rising star isn't a bad idea for a show coming off a wobbly first season.
Jim Gordon will continue as the main character, but "Gotham's" future may actually depend on Taylor being able to defy the odds and make the Penguin fly.
