Robin Lord Taylor as Gotham's Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. The Penguin. Photo copyright of FOX TV.
In the pantheon of Batman villains who have over the years dared to challenge The Caped Crusader and his faithful sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder, surely Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot a.k.a. The Penguin must be fairly high up on the list. Created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, this tuxedo-wearing, umbrella-totting finny felon – who fancied himself a “gentleman of crime” – was introduced 75 years ago in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941). Since then, this iconic comic book rogue has made the leap from the printed page to TV (in the live action Batman series as well as animated stories) and feature films.
For the past two years, Oswald/The Penguin has experienced one hell of a rollercoaster ride when it comes to life in the big city in FOX’s hit Batman prequel Gotham. This latest incarnation of the character, wonderfully portrayed by Robin Lord Taylor, had a steady rise to the criminal top in the show’s first season, only to then have the proverbial rug pulled out from under him. Early on in season two, he was beaten down, but managed to pick himself up before taking a few more falls from criminal “grace.” Such relentless setbacks would have taken the wind out of a lesser bad guy’s sails, but not Oswald's. For him, it has been very much a matter of lessons learned, and in season three, he is going to be a force with which to once again be reckoned. Not surprisingly, Lord Taylor was excited to get back to playing such a complex character.
“When we started back to work on season three of Gotham we did kind of an unprecedented thing, at least for our show, in that we block shot the first two episodes together,” says the actor. “Initially there was some talk about possibly airing a full two-hour season premiere, which is why they chose to shoot these two episodes concurrently and with the same director, who just happened to be our incredibly talented executive producer/co-creator Danny Cannon. So it was a mammoth undertaking, but it felt very much like going on a new adventure with family members. Again, we had Danny at the helm, who directed the Gotham pilot as well as other episodes so far throughout the series run, along with our terrific cast and crew, most of whom have stuck with us over the past two years.
“So all those familiar faces make the [creative] process quite comforting, but it’s always a little scary coming back to work after a break. As an actor, you ask yourself, or at least I do, ‘Do I still know what I’m doing?’ This is my first time as a series regular, and I’ve found with Gotham that this wonderfully ‘weird’ thing happens, where the show’s writers get to know your voice and then start incorporating that voice into your character, which is pretty cool. Of course, I know my character very well, so it feels really natural putting on the costume along with the make-up and stepping back into the role. The thing is, though, I’m never 100% satisfied with my work, and it’s always been somewhat difficult for me to relax when stepping in front of the camera, but the latter has started to happen here on this show. At first I thought, ‘Am I getting complacent? Why isn’t this as much of a struggle anymore?’ Then I realized that this is what comes with playing a role for an extended period of time and sort of taking ownership of it. We’re blessed to be on our third season of Gotham, and what a dream for an actor to really be able to sink his or her teeth into a character.
“We recently shot a scene that appears in episode five this season, and it’s really one of my favorite scenes from the show because it involves so many of our main characters. There’s Edward Nygma/The Riddler [Cory Michael Smith], Butch Gilzean [Drew Powell], Selina Kyle [Carmen Bicondova], Bruce Wayne [David Mazouz], Alfred Pennyworth [Sean Pertwee], Barbara Keen [Erin Richards], Tabitha Galavan [Jessica Lucas], and Ivy Pepper [Maggie Geha], who has changed since you last saw her. She’s aged and is a new incarnation of Ivy. All these characters come together in a club, and those shooting days are just incredibly exciting,” enthuses Lord Taylor. “We have so many characters as well as separate storylines going on in Gotham, and whenever any of them can converge, it’s always a treat for us as a cast. There’s an energy that sort of crackles and sparks, and viewers are definitely going to see that onscreen with this scene in episode five.”
A native of Shueyville, Iowa, Lord Taylor is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Speech, and although he always had a passion for the craft of acting, he was initially uncertain whether or not he was suited for this particular profession. “Growing up in a small Iowa town, I didn’t know that this [acting] was something you could actually make a living at, and I also wasn’t sure if I had the chops for it,” he recalls. “I wondered if I’d be able to compete with others who grew up in big cities and had lots of acting opportunities as a child.
“So when I was younger, I floated between this idea of being an actor or an architect. Both my parents are mathematicians, so they were really pushing for architect,” says Lord Taylor with a laugh. “When I applied to Northwestern, I had to choose a major, so I decided to put down theatre, knowing that once I got to school, I could always change my mind. Again, this was all coming from the sort of self-defeatist attitude of, ‘No, I’m not good enough.’ Lo and behold, when I got to Northwestern and began taking classes with my fellow students, some of whom had had more acting opportunities than I did growing up, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I did have the chops. I could stand onstage with these people and was just as good as them. From then on, I forged ahead with the acting, and Northwestern ended up being the best place for me to flourish.”
Life on Mars, Law & Order, Person of Interest and The Walking Dead are among Lord Taylor’s other TV credits, while his feature film work includes roles in Accepted, Another Earth and Would You Rather. In speaking with the actor, it is obvious he is a people person, which, in turn, is what makes his job all the more fun as well as rewarding to him.
“It’s the artistic collaboration with fellow actors, directors, designers, etc. that has always inspired me, “says Lord Taylor. “When I was starting out in New York, I was lucky enough to book a couple of commercials as well as other bits and pieces of work that got me started in this business, but nothing was really inspiring me.
“Thankfully, I moved to New York with a group of friends from Northwestern who, since freshman year, I’d always looked up to and was totally inspired by. I was roommates in college with my best friend, Billy Eichner, and the two of us also roomed together in New York when we were starting out. At one point, Billy and I ended up creating a show together because we had nothing else going on at the time, and that’s just because he’s such an inspiring person. Now I’m working on Gotham with a group of people whose approach to their characters as well as the job in general inspires me, and I hope in some way that I do the same for them.”
Steve Eramo
Season three of Gotham premieres Monday, September 19th @ 8:00 p.m. EST on FOX. As noted above, photo copyright of FOX TV, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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