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GOTHAM Casts The Penguin, Alfred, and More

Riding high on the heels of the unveiling of their Commissioner Gordon — Southland/The O.C. actor Ben McKenzie — Fox’s superhero-sorta series, Gotham, has cast a few more Batverse-centric roles. Warner Brothers Television has, according to a report at Deadline, found the actors who will inhabit Captain Essen, Barbara Kean, The Penguin, and even Alfred Pennyworth in the upcoming prequel series.

Robin Lord Taylor has been cast as Oswald Cobblepot — more commonly known as The Penguin. According to a press release, Taylor’s Penguin will have “the brains of a chess grandmaster and the morals of a jackal.” The series will posit Oswald Cobblepot as a low-level psychopath (for gangster Fish Mooney), hiding his “sadistic lust for power behind an exquisitely polite demeanor.” Taylor is most known for his work in The Walking Dead and Another Earth.

Sean Pertwee (yes, son of the Third Doctor of Doctor Who fame) has been cast as everyone’s favorite butler, Alfred Pennyworth. In Fox’s take on the character, Pennyworth is described as a “tough-as-nails ex-marine from East London” whose loyalty to the Wayne family is unwavering, especially in the wake of their shocking and tragic deaths. Because of this, Pennyworth becomes “fiercely protective of the young Bruce Wayne.” Previously, Pertwee has portrayed Inspector Gareth Lestrade on Elementary, and can be seen in Steve Coogan’s recent Alan Partridge film.

Also cast in the series were Burn Notice‘s Zabryna Guevara as Captain Essen — perhaps a safe bet that her first name is Sarah — and Being Human‘s Erin Richards as Barbara Kean, otherwise known as the two women who were (at separate times, natch) married to Commissioner Gordon, which seems to indicate the series will address Gordon’s love triangle with the women. It’s also been reported that additional characters such as The Joker and Catwoman will appear on the series, meaning there’s only more where all this came from.

What do you think of the casting choices? Let us know in the comments.

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Comments

  1. Martyn says:

    I don’t want Bruce Wayne to appear at all.
    I’d rather this were a prequel series to the whole Batman story.
    I’m worried that they’re turning this in to Gothamville.
    One of the greatest comic ranges was Gotham PD. It showed the average goings on in the police department and what they were going through when Batman was fighting crime.
    Give us that, but without Bruce Wayne. Give us a rookie Jim Gordon and the rest of the Gotham PD.
    But, you know it’s a series on fox, it’ll be one great season, them cancellation.

  2. RebecaMz says:

    @atte watch Accepted and you’ll see he’s a good actor for disturbed/freaky/weird characters.

  3. vismund says:

    @atte none of that 88 batman stuff is canon and the joker prob wont be in it.

  4. Atte says:

    I am in fact, very suprised about the Penguin. Please, don’t ruin Penguin for me. I mean make him short, make him ugly, make him the outcast of society he is. I know next to nothing about this actor, but I’m hoping for good penguin.

    Alfred also good.

    Matt Smith? Not baad at all. Also Robert Knepper would suffice. But I’m bit curious about the Joker. I mean, are we gonna see the “Jack Napier”-Joker before his accident and his Red Hood persona? And then Batman can come and dumb him in to the vat.

  5. Logan says:

    Can we PLEASE have Matt Smith as a the joker, I mean after Nightmare in Silver that’s all I could think about for a month.