What Smallville did for Superman, Gotham, in many ways, did the for Batman - even if Commissioner Gordon’s origin story was just as, if not more, important than that of Bruce Wayne’s heroic evolution. The series, which ran for five seasons on Fox, also made comic book stars out of its exceptional cast (including Donal Logue, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Robin Lord Taylor, to name a few) and, for some, it would not be the last time.
In fact, for many members of the cast, Gotham was not even their first taste of… well, Gotham or any other fictional city in the DC Universe or other comic book continuities. Of course, the variety that has defined their careers before and after landing a part in the Batman prequel series should also not go unnoticed.
In fact, I intend to take a deeper look into the filmographies of the hit TV show’s most famous faces and find out what is next in store for them. Let’s see what the following 13 Gotham stars have been up to since its 2019 series finale, starting with an actor who got to play one of Batman’s most famous supporting allies, but as the star of the show this time.
Ben McKenzie (James Gordon)
Before playing Gotham’s future commissioner, Ben McKenzie’s debut cop role was on Southland alongside Regina King and The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz, but it was playing troubled teen Ryan Atwood on The O.C. that made him a star. The now 42-year-old Texan (who actually got to play Batman in a 2011 animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s Year One miniseries) has since graduated to playing an FBI agent in Amazon Prime’s The Report, and a terrorist who has it out for a cop, played by The Dark Knight’s Aaron Eckhart, in 2019’s Line of Duty. He's also raising a child with his former Gotham co-star and now wife, Morena Baccarin.
Morena Baccarin (Leslie Tompkins)
Like their Gotham characters (but with far less on-and-off tragedy), Ben McKenzie found love with his Gotham co-star (despite previously meeting on The O.C.) Morena Baccarin - who earned her Geek Goddess status from Firefly, and the feature-length sequel Serenity. She's also played other DC characters in live action series (The Flash), or animated films (DCAU’s Talia Al Ghul), eventually playing Deadpool’s girlfriend, Vanessa. The Brazilian-born beauty played the wife of another comic book movie star, 300’s Gerard Butler, in the 2020 disaster flick Greenland, and will play the lead of the upcoming sci-fi series Home Invasion.
Donal Logue (Harvey Bullock)
We go from Jim Gordon’s partner-in-life to his corrupt partner on Gotham’s police force, played by Donal Logue - a talented character actor whose various credits include cinematic favorites like Jerry Maguire, sitcoms like Grounded for Life, crime dramas like Sons of Anarchy, and fellow comic book adaptations such as Ghost Rider from 2007, and 1998’s Blade. His first cop roles after Harvey Bullock were a sheriff on the Peacock original series Departure, and a P.I. on Stumptown (also based on a graphic novel series), and he also will play a police chief in the highly anticipated reboot of the Resident Evil movie franchise.
David Mazouz (Bruce Wayne)
Of course, we cannot forget who the show is also about: Gotham’s Dark Knight, played by David Mazouz - who previously played another young hero (but with psychic powers) in the short-lived Fox series Touch, also starring Kiefer Sutherland as his widowed father. The now 20-year-old actor will once again star as the younger version of an orphaned central “hero,” opposite the likes of Ewan McGregor and Aldis Hodge, in the upcoming crime thriller The Birthday Cake, which is now in post-production.
Sean Pertwee (Alfred Pennyworth)
At least Bruce Wayne could find a father figure in his family’s live-in servant, Alfred - played on Gotham by Sean Pertwee, who has not only appeared in all kinds of other nerdy things (like sci-fi horror Event Horizon, modern-day Sherlock Holmes retelling Elementary, and video games franchises like Assassin’s Creed), but is also the son of the third actor to play the title role of Doctor Who, Jon Pertwee. The 56-year-old has reunited with Dog Soldiers director Neil Marshall for 2021 period horror flick The Reckoning and stars opposite Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams in the darkly comic British crime series Two Weeks to Live.
Erin Richards (Barbara Kean)
Another UK-born Gotham star (although you wouldn’t know from the show) is Erin Richards, who plays Jim Gordon’s on-and-off criminal ex-fiancée Barbara Kean, and also directed a Season 5 episode of the series after making her own short film, Hot Girl, in 2018. The Welsh actress also directed an episode of the short-lived CBS drama God Friended Me in 2020 and, as for work in front of the camera, will star in a Covid-19 era romance, Grey Elephant, and is now filming a drama, with the plot currently under wraps (although it sounds like it could, too, be a Covid-19 era flick), called Save the Cinema.
Jessica Lucas (Tabitha Galavan)
Another former lover of Barbara Kean is her partner in crime Tabitha Galavan, otherwise known as Tigress, whom Jessica Lucas (of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Melrose Place, and 2013’s Evil Dead fame) portrayed on Gotham until the character's death in the Season 5 premiere. The underrated Scream Queen went on to lead her own crime procedural, The Murders, filmed in her home country of Canada, and is joining the cast of medical drama The Resident. There is no word on if she will be involved in the upcoming direct sequel to Cloverfield, but, considering, we never witnessed her demise in the 2008 found footage hit, it is entirely possible.
Camren Bicondova (Selina Kyle)
Tabitha Galavan also served as a mentor to the young woman who would one day become Catwoman on Gotham - the breakout role of Camren Bicondova (before Banshee star Lili Simmons took over the part for the flash forward finale), whose dancing skills had previously earned her an uncredited spot on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, and a small part in the film Battlefield America in 2012. The 21-year-old talent is also an active supporter of various philanthropic causes, such as the NOH8 Campaign, and recently starred in and produced the dramatic short film 3 Days Closer, in 2020.
Robin Lord Taylor (Oswald Cobblepot)
Short films, along with a recurring role on the hit Netflix exclusive thriller You, and a small, but memorably interesting, appearance in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, are among the more recent projects for Robin Lord Taylor - who received much acclaim for his performance as the criminal who would one day take on Batman as the Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot. Also known for playing a character aptly named A.D.D. in the 2006 college comedy Accepted, the now 42-year-old will next be seen in director James Franco’s 1940s period piece The Long Home, and his crime drama 10-13, written and directed by former Gotham and Dexter star David Zayas, is now in pre-production.
Jada Pinkett Smith (Fish Mooney)
Seeing Jada Pinkett Smith (life partner to Will) play Maria “Fish” Mooney, a ruthless criminal completely original to Gotham (following her lead role on short-lived medical drama Hawthorne), was a pleasant surprise, considering her big screen stardom from Scream 2, Michael Mann’s Collateral, and lending her voice to Gloria the Hippo in the Madagascar franchise. The host of Red Table Talk (a Facebook Watch exclusive talk show she hosts with her daughter and mother) has since appeared as an FBI agent in Angel Has Fallen and will reprise her role as Niobe in the highly anticipated fourth installment of The Matrix movies - now in post-production.
Cory Michael Smith (Edward Nygma)
As for another classic Batman villain, Cory Michael Smith gave one riddling performance on Gotham as Edward Nygma - his screen acting debut before appearing films like Academy Award-nominated Carol, Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, and the 2018 LGBTQ+ period tragedy 1985, which he also produced. Outside of his starring role on the short-lived Amazon Prime original series Utopia, the actor has since returned to his theater roots (sort of) by participating in virtual performances of stage plays, such as a reading of Christa McAuliffe’s Eyes Were Blue from One Night in Miami scribe Kemp Powers, from February to April 2021.
Maggie Geha (Ivy Pepper)
The Riddler is not the only Batman villain known for wearing green, it's also the signature color for Gotham's Poison Ivy, as played by 2004's Miss Vermont Teen USA, Maggie Geha, in the third and fourth seasons. The redheaded model and former All My Children actress would later the join the cast of the Netflix original sitcom Mr. Iglesias and is set for a role in Mel Rodriguez III's upcoming comedy Benny's Lament, for which she is, unsurprisingly, currently credited as "Femme Fatale."
Cameron Monaghan (Jerome Valeska)
Most Gotham fans, however, would argue that the series' most dazzling interpretation of an iconic DC baddie is Cameron Monaghan's Jerome Valeska - who is not necessarily, but pretty much is, The Joker. The talented 27-year-old's other most identifiable roles are Ian Gallagher on Showtime's Shameless and Cal Kestis in the video game Star Wars: Fallen Order, but be sure to look out for him in the upcoming horror film The White Devil, the action thriller Wake, and the horror crime thriller Deliberation.
Even though he was never explicitly referred to as The Joker on Gotham, some consider Cameron Monaghan's role as their favorite version of the Clown Prince of Crime. Although that was, unfortunately, not always the case for the series' other reinterpretations of classic characters, it is hard to argue against the belief that the cast of the Batman prequel made quite an impact on the world of DC. Wherever there are further updates to find regarding this hit TV series' legacy, CinemaBlend will be there.
