Fox is quickly moving forward with casting its eagerly anticipated series Gotham. This weekend, The O.C. and Southland star Ben McKenzie landed the role of James Gordon, prompting numerous jokes of a young Commissioner pushing off baddies by yelling, “Welcome to the G.C., bitch!” Now, four more (and relatively unknown) actors are joining the series’ principal cast. Most notably, Sean Pertwee (pictured above) is on board as Alfred, the trusted Wayne family butler, and Robin Lord Taylor will fill the shoes of Oswald Cobblepot, better known as The Penguin.
Sean Pertwee has quite a history, touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company back in the 1980s before turning in work as a gruff character actor in sci-fi flicks like Event Horizon, Soldier and Equilibrium. Recently, Pertwee lent his voice to video games Killzone, Fable II and their respective sequels. According to Variety, Pertwee’s Alfred Pennyworth will be “fiercely protective of the young Bruce Wayne” as well as a “tough-as-nails ex-marine.” With Caine’s superb portrayal still resonating in the minds of many Batman fans and Jeremy Irons’ recent casting in Alfred’s role for the forthcoming Man of Steel sequel, Pertwee has some big shoes to fill.
Meanwhile, Robin Lord Taylor recently appeared in Cold Comes the Night and on episodes of The Walking Dead and The Good Wife. His biggest film roles were in Accepted, Assassination of a High School President (starring McKenzie’s O.C. squeeze Mischa Barton) and Another Earth. The trade describes his Penguin as a man “with the brains of a chess grandmaster and the morals of a jackal… [he] hides his sadistic lust for power behind an exquisitely polite demeanor.” Based off this casting news, it seems that The Penguin will be the series’ formidable villain for at least the first season (if the show runs for that long).
Two more additions to the cast are Erin Richards (The Quiet Ones), who will star as Gordon’s fiancee, Barbara Kean, and Zabryna Guevara (Pariah), who will star as Captain Essen, the to-be commissioner’s boss at the Gotham City Police Department. The biggest role that fans are waiting for is that of a young, grieving Bruce Wayne. Even though he is not the focus of the show, that would be a bad role to botch, akin to Jake Lloyd’s dim performance as a young Anakin Skywalker.
Gotham will air on Fox this fall.
