If you thought that Fox’s Gotham didn’t have any more casting surprises in store just because the pilot was already filmed, you’ll be bat-stonished to know that isn’t the case at all. TV and Hollywood vet Carol Kane (Annie Hall, Hester Street) has been added to the cast in a recurring role as Batman’s sidekick Robin and…just kidding! No reason to get those Underoos twisted all up.
Kane joins this already stocked cast as Gertrud Kapelput, the assumedly non-flighty mother of Oswald Cobblepot, better known to the world as The Penguin. (Get it? Non-flighty? Penguins? Nothing?) TV Line describes Gertrud as a “proud and faded beauty with delusions of grandeur,” and says that she will make her first appearance in episode two.
I’m betting her desire for attention will have something to do with Cobblepot’s turn towards criminal behavior. After all, it all starts with the parents, right? And what’s up with the name change? Does Kapelput have something to do with the Nazis and the Penguin wants nothing to do with it? (I always assume name changes are related to World War II.) It doesn’t sound like she’ll be the over-protective mother of the comic world, though there’s always room for an iron thumb.
Robin Lord Taylor is playing Oswald Cobblepot, who has not yet taken on the maddeningly aggravating crime boss status that awaits him in the future. But he isn’t the only villain haunting the streets of Gotham, as he’s joined by Selina “Catwoman” Kyle (Camren Bicondova), Edward “Riddler” Nygma (Cory Michael Smith), Ivy “Poison Ivy” Pepper (Clare Foley) and original character Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith).
Gotham centers on Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie), a rookie in Homicide who intends to keep his city a law-abiding place. He’s joined in his efforts by his partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), fellow detective Crispus Allen (Andrew Stewart), Captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara) and his wife Barbara (Erin Richards). David Mazouz stars as a young Bruce Wayne, whose parents are presumably killed in the first episode, setting this city’s story on its dark, dark way.
Kane, also known for The Princess Bride, has been as busy as ever in recent years, with guest spots on series like Girls and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On the feature side of things, she’s in Livia De Paolis’ drama Emoticon ;) and Tate Steinsiek’s upcoming crime thriller Dynamite: A Cautionary Tale. To me, though, she’ll always be Latka’s wife Simka Dahblitz-Gravas on Taxi.
Comic-Con 2014 attendees can anticipate watching the Gotham pilot during Warner Bros.’ Preview Night. Everyone else will have to wait to until Gotham premieres on Fox this fall.
