In an official interview with Collider stars Robin Lord Taylor (Oswald Cobblepot) and Cory Michael Smith (Edward Nygma) talk in detail about how they came to the show Gotham (2014 - ), how the show has changed their lives and what is the most exciting part of the show to them. Check out the full interview below!
How did you each come to this show?
Cory Michael Smith: It was very secretive. They had mock sides and wouldn’t let anyone read the script. I knew who I was auditioning for.
Robin Lord Taylor: I knew, too, but it was a fake scene with a fake name in the scene. At one point, my agent was like, “It’s The Penguin.” SMITH: They were trying really hard to keep people from knowing what they were auditioning for. The Penguin was one of the first character’s cast, and I think that casting was announced when I was auditioning. But, I knew by the time that I went in what I was auditioning for.
Cory Michael Smith: They were trying really hard to keep people from knowing what they were auditioning for. The Penguin was one of the first character’s cast, and I think that casting was announced when I was auditioning. But, I knew by the time that I went in what I was auditioning for.
Robin Lord Taylor: The casting directors, Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas, are based in L.A., and they were incredibly supportive. I owe this all to them, for the most part.
Cory Michael Smith: They were lovely. I had never met them befor.
This is the first long-term TV role for each of you, correct?
Cory Michael Smith: I've never done TV before.
Robin Lord Taylor: It's insane!
And you end up on Gotham, which was one of the most highly anticipated shows of the season.
Cory Michael Smith: It's all right. There are puddles and there are oceans, and I say, it's all water.
Robin Lord Taylor: It's all water, baby!
Were you nervous going into it, or was there too much excitement to be nervous?
Robin Lord Taylor: Well, nervous makes it sound a little negative. It was more anticipation and excitement.
Cory Michael Smith: We want people to love it. There's so much passion in the Batman community that we just want to satisfy and impress. We want fans to be genuinely proud and happy and excited, and ride this wave with us. I feel responsibilty to live up to the brilliance of this entire canon, which I hope that we're going to do.
Who in your lives is most excited that you’re a part of this universe now?
Cory Michael Smith: My mother loves Batman. I don't think there is a show that she could be more excited that I;m a part of.
Robin Lord Taylor: That's fantastic!
Cory Michael Smith: Her friends are stoked. She's like, "My son is doing a new Batman show!" She's very excited. Also there's a guy that runs a website called The Riddle Factory (www.theriddlefactory.com). He's a real gentleman and an insane enthusiast. I don't mean that he's insane, but he's a very dedicated enthusiast of Edward Nygma. He and I communicate and he's been super helpful, in terms of finding sources of research. And he's really supportive, promoting me on his website. It's nice. It's really great. Having someone who is a wizard on Edward Nygma is really nice.
Robin Lord Taylor: I need one of those! Penguin guy out there, come find me! I would say that my mom is the most excited, just about the fact that I have a regular gig. To be a part of a show that everyone knows about, and it's not just some show where it's new and you have to explain what it is, they're right there with you. It's insane!
When you do a pilot that sets up the world so well, were you more anxious to read Episode 2 and 3, to make sure it sustains?
Cory Michael Smith: Yes, and I think they get better. I love them. The first one was so open and oblique, and really introduced a lot of people. As we go along, they get more focused, in a really productive way. It’s really succinct storytelling. There are specific events that are huge and surprising and exciting, especially with [The Penguin], but each one still solves a crime, in every episode. They’re just getting really focused. The humor between Harvey Bullock and James Gordon is getting really, really tight
Robin Lord Taylor: The surprise aspect is really amazing. I have my preconceptions about what’s going to happen, and then I read the next script and I’m like, “What?!,” and my mind is blown. It’s so exciting.
Cory Michael Smith: In just a few episodes, what happens to The Penguin is really good.
Robin Lord Taylor: We really go there.
Cory Michael Smith: It’s really good. No one could possibly even guess where he goes and what he does. It’s amazing!
Robin Lord Taylor: It's pretty epic.
These characters each have their own physicality. How did you find your performance and decide how you wanted to embody your character?
Robin Lord Taylor: Well, I think it was cast perfectly well. A lot of us are just immediately bringing an energy that we have that makes sense with the character. In terms of my character and the physicalization, it’s in the script. It’s great because I discover that as the audience discovers that. I get to develop it in front of everybody’s eyes. It’s not just something that I’m bringing that I invented and no one knows where it came from. It’s established and it’s part of him, and people are there, witnessing that. It’s great.
Cory Michael Smith: I made a very specific choice when I went in to audition for this, based on the scene, which isn’t even in the show, and what he was doing in the world of forensics, he was holding a hair and looking at it. All of the things that I was doing while I was working on the words, I just built everything off of that. He was looking at this thing and sharing it with someone, and everything came from that, for me. From there, it was just easy. I also have these fabulous glasses and this notebook, everywhere I go. I have these things, and it’s very fingery to me. I found him pretty easy. It just came innately.
Robin Lord Taylor: Same with me.
The relationship between Oswald Cobblepot and Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) is so much fun to watch. What’s it like to play that dynamic with her?
Robin Lord Taylor: She’s the nicest person, ever. She’s nothing like Fish Mooney, at all. But at the same time, she’s a superstar and I’m starting out. That dynamic, itself, is very similar to our dynamic in the show. It’s nice because I feel that when we’re working together. It’s great because it makes it real, for both of us. She’s the best. I can’t say enough good things about her. She’s so bad-ass, and also so kind and giving, as an actor and as a scene partner. It’s really inspiring.
What do you guys think? I for one can not wait to see where Gotham (2014 - ) goes from here. Do you enjoy these two actors as their charactors? What do you like abou the show? Let me know below!