Sailey WilliamsWith a remarkable standout performance as “Oswald Cobblepot” AKA “The Penguin,”Robin Lord Taylor ignites the screen on FOX’s primetime hit Gotham. Taylor brings a desperate jittery energy to the role, creating a version of the “umbrella-wielding madman” so unique, that although there have been many portrayals of “Oswald Cobblepot” before his, he owns every scene, giving a perfectly nuanced and multi-layered performance as the man who ultimately will become one of Bruce Wayne’s greatest foes. Even Danny Devito approves!
Playing opposite Jada Pinkett Smith, the legendary Carol Kane and Ben McKenzie, Taylor’s interpretation is both painfully calculated, wildly desperate, aptly cold and his performance never falls back on any of the comic book gimmicks previously associated with the character.
As Gotham’s freshman season came to a close Robin discussed Oswald’s development & what we can expect from the sympathetic victim next season!
Photography ADOLPHUS AMISSAH
Styling ATIBA NEWSOME
Grooming YUKI ARA
Hair LP GIARDINO FOR WHITEROOM SALON
Production Assistant(s) MAGDALENA LAZARE . DERAE D’MORA
Hat by ADEEN Suit by PUBLIC SCHOOL Shirt by ROBERTO CAVALI Coat by PUBLIC SCHOOL
You currently star on FOX’s primetime hit Gotham with a standout performance as “Oswald Cobblepot” AKA “The Penguin”. Tell us a bit about your character and being casted for the role.
It is hands down one of the best characters I have ever played. Mostly because he is incredibly ambitious and intelligent, all of which comes from this place inside of him where he refuses to go back to being a powerless person. During Oswald’s entire life he was counted out because of the way he looked, his personal interests and family background; this fed into his ambition to become greater and stronger than everyone else. All of that really spoke to me.
When I went for the role I didn’t even know what I was auditioning for; it was called “Untitled Warner Bros. Project” on the sides. They had written a fake scene with fake character names, and that was all the information I had going in. I prepared as best I could, I read the scene as I would do any scene without knowing who the character was, and then the night before, my agent told me, “Oh, by the way, this is the origin story of Batman and you’re auditioning for the Penguin.” At that point, I’d already made my choices with the scene, and I didn’t want to let any of that affect me. I was coming from a place of, either it’s going to be a thing that they’re into and they respond to, or it’s not going to be. So I went in with my original plan in mind, and did it once, and they were like “OK, we’ll be in touch.’ Next day, they called and said they wanted to send me to Los Angeles to test for the part. And here we are, it’s been an insane ride.
Oswald has taken a lot of punches & hits this season. What is the stunt & physical aspect of the show like?
The stunts on the show are extremely intense; Oswald goes through quite a lot. It seems to be the running joke that he gets the snot kicked out of him at every opportunity. But he’s like Chumbawamba, after he gets knocked down he gets back up again. When we shoot those scenes we have a great stunt coordination team that goes through every movement in such an intense degree that we never fear we are unsafe. We also have stunt doubles to step in, but with this cast we enjoy doing as much as possible ourselves. We want to get as physically close to what the character is going through, which adds authenticity and intensity to the scenes you see in Gotham.
Fans often find themselves rooting for Penguin. What was the process of making the character manic but also sympathetic?
It’s a funny thing playing a supervillain that makes a lot of crazy choices and maybe doesn’t have the most respect for human life. The craziest thing about it is the fan feedback. “You’re so bad, but I want you to succeed!” What is that? Ha! But it’s really validating for me to hear that because when taking the role of Oswald one of the goals was to make the character as three dimensional as possible. Through understanding where he comes from and seeing his growth as the season progressed you can’t help but sympathize with the character.
Your portrayal has a very distinctive walk, what went behind developing this characteristic for Oswald?
Oswald, and the Penguins of the past have all had this very distinctive type of walk. One of my favorite things about this incarnation of Oswald’s story is we get to see the walk develop. We got to see the physical injury he received from Jada Pinkett Smith’s character Fish Mooney; and because it was a physical ailment it was something I was able to discuss with our stunt coordinator.
I also have a helpful trick that gets me into the headspace of it all & to keep the walk consistent. I keep a water bottle cap taped inside the bottom of my right shoe. So with every step I take there is a reminder that Oswald experiences pain with every step he takes as well. It’s just enough to bring me to that reality.
Danny DeVito, who played Penguin in 1992’s Batman Returns, recently cosigned your portrayal of the character. What was it like to get that nod of approval?
I have been a fan of Danny Devito my entire life; all the way back to “Taxi” and of course Batman Returns. I think it is an iconic performance. I then found out that he watches the show and that he is a fan of my performance! It was such a confidence builder; I am still trying to gasp it. Now I just want to hang out with him and drink limoncello. Ha!
What was your favorite comic book character growing up?
I wasn’t as big a comic book aficionado as some of my friends, but I definitely had some Batman comics. Something about that character really spoke to me, and speaks to a lot of people. He is an actual human being without supernatural powers; he is rooted to the earth the way the rest of us are and I think there is something very identifiable about that. I was on a panel recently with the rest of the cast of Gotham and they asked everyone that same question and the 1st four people said Batman; I didn’t want to be the jerk to repeat the same answer so instead I said Michael Jackson. And I stand by that so there it is!
You’ve recently made appearances at San Diego & New York Comic Con. What had been your most memorable fan experience?
It’s only happened once but when a fan comes up and starts weeping when meeting me has to be one of the weirdest experiences of my entire career. I’m like, “it’s okay! I’m not Paul McCartney or anything!”
How would you define your personal style outside of the character?
Simple. Dark colors. It’s funny–when I used to be blonde, I wore a lot of bright colors but now, with the dark hair, I feel like I look psychotic when I wear a pastel.
What is it like working with Carol Kane who is killing it right now on both Gotham and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt?
Working with Carol has been an absolute dream come true. I have been a fan my entire life and when we met on set, we had an immediate connection. I truly love her deeply. And we’re neighbors in NYC!
Coming from small town Iowa & finding success after moving to NYC what advice would you give to those making the same transition?
Surround yourself with good friends who will help you get thru the lean times. They will carry you when you feel like packing it up and moving back home.
You co-starred in Creation Nation the spring board for Fuse’s Billy On The Street. Could we see a reunion anytime soon? We would love to see you guys shout Gotham trivia at New Yorkers.
Billy Eichner is my best friend in the world and to work with him again would be a dream! We’ve talked about it–stay tuned! Anything is possible!
Gotham was just renewed for a second season. How would you like to see the character evolve?
I cannot wait to see how Oswald navigates this new stage in his life and career. He is on a path to more power but with that comes a whole new set of challenges. Also, I cannot wait for him to have more interaction with some of the other classic villains we introduced in season 1. I’m looking at you, Mr. Edward Nygma.
What can you tell us about the finale?
As we’ve seen through the last few episodes, Oswald has set a gang war in motion. His MO is to have the two big lions go at each other and kill each other, then he’ll be there to step in. However, there is one person in Gotham City who stands in his way, and that is Fish Mooney. … We have a confrontation in the final episode that is really intense. It’s another example of real life blending with the fantasy that we’re creating. She is the one who is standing in Oswald’s way — not to say that Jada is standing in my way at all! — but for him to succeed, she has to go. It’s ambiguous and it’s not completely clear what happens to her, but it’s a very poignant scene. Truth be told, it was a very intense night when we shot this. We were shooting on a roof in Brooklyn on the waterfront, and when it was over, I completely burst into tears. To have this connection with my fellow actor, and to have it be Jada — who has taught me so much in this last year about navigating this world that suddenly I find myself in, being in the limelight — it was a really, really poignant, intense moment for me personally as well as for Oswald.