Ben McKenzie talks ‘Gotham,’ working with Penguin, Bruce
The Batman prequel TV show continues to be a big hit with fans and Gotham star Ben McKenzie spoke with IGN about his character changing, seeking out the help of Penguin (Robin Taylor Lord) and what we’ll see between Jim and the young Bruce Wayne, played by David Mazouz).
“I think one of the things that’s compelling about Jim is that, for all of his honesty and forthrightness and moral rectitude, he’s also an incredibly ambitious, ego-driven guy, on a certain level, like we all are,” he says of his Jim Gordon character.
“If he’s got to treat people a little roughly, throw some sharp elbows to get things done, then he’s going to do it. The more he learns about how Gotham actually works, the more hardened he becomes. So there’ll be a nice element there of taking no prisoners. It’s not even so much police work as it is politicking. You can grease palms or break limbs. [Laughs] Whichever gets it done. He’s learning how to use leverage, how to call in favors. He’s growing increasingly close to Penguin in ways that he could never have anticipated before and wouldn’t have allowed.”
Fans can expect a tolerance between the future Commissioner and teh Batman villain.
“He has to have friends on the other side of the law, or he’s never going to get the information and he’s never going to know the lay of the land. And who better than Penguin, who is ruthless but does fancy Jim as a friend and thinks of him in this bizarre way as his only friend.”
McKenzie talks about other relationships on the show before turning to Bruce Wayne.
” I think Bruce at this point is very frustrated with Jim in that he hasn’t delivered on his promise. A young man gets impatient and effectively shoes him away, says, “We’re done.” Maybe Jim showing Bruce he can get things done with looser morals, maybe that appealing to Bruce. But what kind of lesson does that teach a kid?” he says to IGN.
McKenzie recently spoke to Collider about Robin/Nightwing’s family the Grayson’s appearing on the show:
“We actually did an entire episode set in a circus with the Graysons, and we were there, watching a full circus. That’s just amazing. It’s really incredible. And each week is a new surprise.”
Gotham showrunner Bruno Heller recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about Dick Grayson’s parents showing up in Gotham:
“We’re going to do a prenatal origin story for Robin down the line. There are no MRIs involved. There’s an episode coming up where we learn how Robin’s parents got together.”
Check out the full interview with IGN here
For our exclusive interview with David Mazouz (Bruce Wayne) HERE
Get tons of great stories on Gotham HERE
Visit the main Television Page
