by James Mottram
How did you feel playing a character that’s been played by such illustrious predecessors?
I grew up watching the Adam West series every day after elementary school. It was on after Scooby Doo! I’d seen that entire series and I was also obsessed with the Batman films and, in particular Batman Returns. I’d seen it hundreds of times on television. Those were always part of my life. The funny thing about this job is when I auditioned, I auditioned with a fake scene. He was not called Oswald and it was some other character name. We were not given the script before we auditioned. So, I went in going, ‘I’m going to do this scene’, not knowing anything. Thankfully it went well, so I knew immediately from that audition what my interpretation of this character was going to be – though I had no idea going in that it was the Penguin. So, I started on a clear slate and from that I was like, ‘OK, well what I did in that audition obviously worked very well.’ So, we’re going to continue going in that direction. I felt no pressure to try and recreate or emulate [what came before].
Was it easier to leave all the comics and graphic novels aside?
I found going back to the comics extremely helpful. I had read some comics over the years, but I wasn’t really an aficionado as so many people are – especially when it came to the Penguin. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Batman comic about the Penguin. So, when I got the job, I was very lucky – Geoff Johns, who is the head of DC and very involved with all the DC television shows…I met him very early on at some event, and said, ‘If you know of any titles that are specifically about the Penguin and maybe his background or where he grew up, let me know and I’ll go and pick them up.’ He said, ‘What’s your address?’ And then two days later, Batman comics were sent to my house hand-selected by Geoff Johns.
Did any of them stand out?
One in particular was ‘Penguin: Pain and Prejudice’, which is an amazing story – and it really delves into his background. And that’s where I learned he was severely bullied as a child; that psychology helped. That was the human hook. This is how we can humanise this character and ground it back to some semblance of reality and make it real for me. So, in my case the comics were extremely helpful.
In the early scripts for Gotham, were the villains well-developed?
The writing was so beautifully clear from the beginning. What I love the most about the show is it’s about how the city corrupts, but also, there are no absolutes…there is no absolute good, there is no absolute bad. It’s just this myriad of grey. In my case, in particular, the most powerful relationship I had starting off in Season 1 is with Jim Gordon and I like to think of it…in a way, they are two sides of the same coin. Jim represents the virtuous side whereas Oswald is the corrupted side. Oswald is always trying to teach Jim that you need to get your hands dirty; you cannot be truly good to get anything done in this city. So, it was that layered, textured thing that I really responded to from day one, which was clearly laid out for me.
Before you did Gotham, you did a live talk show with Billy Eichner. What was that?
Billy’s one of my very, very best friends. Billy and I went to university together. We were roommates in college for the last two years, and then we were also roommates when we both moved to New York City. From the day I met him, he was just a brilliant genius. We couldn’t come from two more different places. I’m from a small town in Iowa. He’s from Queens. Very, very, very different. But for some reason we just connected. And then we were living together in New York and there was one day…this was early on and we had recently moved there and nothing was really happening in our careers, so Billy said to me, ‘Let’s make something.’ Billy and I had always connected about popular culture. We developed this live talk show, like a chat-show, but it’s only about popular culture and it’s lampooning the entire thing. It was something we worshipped and yet we also wanted to destroy! Then we also wanted to be in it and rip it down to shreds. It was a show basically about that. We had a live guest come on…and then when we were developing the show over a couple of years, we created a video element, where it was Billy on the street running up to people asking them questions. You can still find the old videos online – I was the camera person! It was terrifying! One of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done but also one of the most brilliant things. And out of that came Billy On The Street. So, it’s been amazing watching his progression and watching him explode on the scene.
Would you like to do something like that again?
Absolutely. I learnt so much about acting just by doing those shows. The biggest thing I learned was being fearless and also being able to react and to read an audience, and learning all about timing. All of comedy is just timing. If you hold a beat one second too long, you’ve lost the entire day. The specificity of comedy was an invaluable experience for me. So, yeah, anytime I could go back to that, it would be delightful. Billy and I throw around the idea every couple of years of doing the reunion show.
You’ve just done a voice for video game Dishonored 2. Have you played it?
Yes! It’s one of those games and there are infinite possibilities in it, which is so exciting. Also, to be a part of that world – every day it becomes more and more important. That’s just one platform among a million. Soon it will be V.R. – virtual reality is going to be huge. So, to find myself a part of that was an incredible honour.
Were they mapping your face?
Just voice only. I play the character of The Outsider who is basically the narrator of the game. I’m not a physical being, but anytime you click on something, you hear my creepy voice!
Gotham: Season 2 is finally out on DVD and Blu-ray from June 7, 2017. Dishonored 2 is out now.
