The search for a Jim Gordon is now over, as The O.C. star Ben McKenzie has been offered the main role on the upcoming Batman prequel series, Gotham. The show will explore the commissioner in his early days, before Bruce Wayne donned the cape and cowl. It will also dive into the origins of some of the city’s most famous rogues, like Riddler and the Penguin.
Of course, McKenzie’s claim to fame is the aforementioned The O.C., but the actor has done some notable work since. He starred on the TV drama Southland for five seasons and though that show never caught on in as big a way as his previous one, it built a decent-sized audience over the years and earned strong reviews from critics. It was certainly this performance, as a police officer covering the Hollywood division of Los Angeles, that put him in contention for the role of a young Jim Gordon.
Though some may not be happy with this casting choice, I can actually see McKenzie in the role. He wouldn’t my first choice (that would have been Shawn Hatosy, who both looks the part and has experience playing a cop, funnily enough also on Southland), but I don’t think it’s too far out of left field. Gotham‘s Gordon is being described as “an idealistic rookie detective for the Gotham City Police Department’s Homicide Squad, a former college football star and a war hero.” Sounds somewhat similar to McKenzie’s character on Southland and, in an interesting aside, the actor actually voiced the Dark Knight in the animated film Batman: Year One, so he’s had experience with the characters and this universe before.
Tell us, what do you think of Ben McKenzie playing Jim Gordon in Gotham? Is there someone else you would have preferred to see take the role? Let us know in the comments section below.
