David Mazouz sobre las etapas de convertirse en Bruce Wayne
Por Morgan Jeffery 03 Nov 2014, 09:00 GMT
Hit new TV series Gotham was always intended to pivot around Ben McKenzie's conflicted Gordon, but the casting of 13-year-old actor David Mazouz as a young Bruce Wayne - the boy who would one day become Batman - changed the game somewhat.
Though Gordon remains central, Bruce plays a much larger part in the DC adaptation than was originally intended, as showrunner Bruno Heller explained.
"David Mazouz is the best young actor I've ever worked with. He has a profound understanding of human emotion, as well as a focus, concentration and energy that allows you to play adult themes with a kid.
"David can play very complex, difficult, dysfunctional and sometimes scary material. He's fantastic."
Auditioning
Previously best known for playing Kiefer Sutherland's mute genius son on Fox's Touch, Mazouz had his first audition for Gotham in December 2013. So top-secret was the project that he wasn't allowed a finished pilot script, testing instead with dummy sides.
"I knew I was auditioning for Bruce Wayne," he explains. "I didn't have the pilot episode script, but I knew the premise for the show.
"The dummy sides that they gave me were actually very serious sides, about a boy who had lost his brother. It was a very dark script, so I knew just from the sides what they wanted from the character - to have that dark feeling.
"I feel like that's what a child would do if they lost their parents - they would be dark, they would be lonely, they would be angry at the world."
Inspiration
To tackle the part of a young Bruce, Mazouz delved into classic Batman source material - all the way back to the character's first appearance in Detective Comics #27 - and also watched Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight film trilogy.
"If I had to draw inspiration from any of the live-action actors who played Bruce Wayne/Batman, it would probably be Christian Bale," he reveals.
"That's the kind of Bruce Wayne that's going to be in Gotham - he's going to be very dark. The other ones were a little more campy, a little more fun - y'know, Michael Keaton, Adam West... they weren't exactly the more serious side of Batman."
Hype
Having landed the part, Mazouz then had to steel himself for the reaction from Batman aficionados the world over and got his first real taste of fandom at this year's Comic Con International in San Diego.
"I was expecting Comic Con to be a madhouse, 'cos everyone who's ever been informed me that it was gonna be," he recalls. "But I wasn't expecting so much hype for our show specifically - people were really excited.
"But all that hype makes me that much more motivated to do my job and to do the best I can - to really give the fans what they want.
"There are 75 years of dedicated, devoted fans to Batman and we're coming into that realm. Fans are really expecting something and I just do my best to deliver."
Being Bruce
All that anticipation ultimately translated into a strong reception for the finished show and impressive audience figures, with US broadcaster Fox ordering an additional six episodes of Gotham last month, taking its total to 22.
As the first season continues, viewers will see how Bruce Wayne's obsession with his parents' death develops, and how it changes him.
"You really see how he turns his trauma and his darkness into determination and strength," Mazouz suggests, adding that upcoming episodes will delve into the orphan's "intellect".
"You start to see his detective work - it's really fascinating, I think."
The Future
Gotham appears to be heading in one particular direction - with Batman, and eventually a costumed sidekick, watching over the city - and Mazouz is more than eager to don the familiar cape and cowl.
"I'm ready now - give me a cape!" he laughs, noting that the series is already "taking liberties" with DC Comics canon. It's true that while we know where Gotham is heading, what's less certain is how or when it will get there.
"In the comic books, Batman's by himself for a couple years and then Robin joins in," Mazouz says. "But I think it'd be really cool to have a 3-year-old Dick Grayson living next door!"
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