Robin Lord Taylor habla sobre el regreso del 'Pingüino' y 'Fish Mooney'
Por Chris E. Hayner 11 Abril, 2016
He’s baaaaaaack! After the death of his father and endless bullying by the closest thing he has to family that’s still alive, Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) reverted to his old murderous self on “Gotham,” and even threw a little forced cannibalism in for good measure.
With such a huge change in the character — and even more to come — Zap2it spoke with Taylor about going back to Penguin’s roots, working with Paul Reubens, the upcoming return of Jade Pinkett-Smith as Fish Mooney and so much more. Please, he reveals just how excited certain characters were to see him return to Penguin’s signature messy hairstyle.
Zap2it: It’s been such a crazy whirlwind for Oswald — especially since coming back from winter break.
Robin Lord Taylor: It really has! They’re really putting him through it.
To start off, what was it like for you the actor to get to play this altered almost puppy dog version of Oswald after playing him for so long as the murderous psychopath we all grew to love?
Oh my God, it’s a dream! When the storyline was announced among the actors, and when we got that first script, [showrunner] Bruno [Heller] sent me an email and illustrated how he saw this new Oswald. The reference he used right away was Chaplin-esque. I was so thrilled to play with a whole new set of paintbrushes — that’s how I looked at it.
It’s been an amazing experience.
Then beyond that, I know you’re a huge ‘Batman Returns’ fan … can we just talk about the experience of playing Oswald Cobblepot against Paul Reubens as your dad?
It was definitely full of … I had a lot of out of body experiences. Paul and I got on smashingly, as did everyone else. He’s just one of the most cherished guest stars we’ve ever had on “Gotham.”
In talking to him he’d look at me and do a little shrug or laugh that in that moment was so Paul Reubens that it would shake me to my core.
And he has a story about everyone — he’s met everyone. He has a Michael Jackson story, he has a Prince story, he has a Cher story, he has a Patti LaBelle story! They’d call, “Cut” and I’d be like, “Pick up where you left off! What did Patti LaBelle say at that weird special you did with her?”
It’s amazing, just amazing. He could not be sweeter.
And looking at his career, he’s been doing this since the ’80s.
Oh my God yes! Totally! And he’s had quite a roller coaster experience with his career — the highest of the high and the lowest of the low. What really makes him special is the fact that he is still an open person and still trusting and still willing to talk about his entire career and everything that’s happened to him.
I think that’s why he’s so delightful to work with and still is a real person. He’s clearly processed all of the things that have happened to him in a really healthy way and can still talk about them. For anyone that’s going through this business it’s a wealth of information.
This is how you survive and get through crazy shit. It’s really amazing and he’s an absolute show business survivor and I think everyone should respect him for that.
Then you look at where his career is now. He went through those highs and lows and has evolved into this respected character actor and personality. It’s nice to see him looked at in that light again.
Absolutely, it’s so gratifying! And I think it’s a testament to his character and to the kind of person that he is that it is happening again for him — that it is coming around for him. It’s really well-deserved and he’s a great guy.
Now, looking at Oswald … You can’t help but love that his reverting to his old self is illustrated by the change in his hairstyle.
Of course! That was the funniest thing too. The entire design team, specifically hair and makeup, while we were doing the sad, brainwashed Penguin they … Specifically our hair person Theresa, who is very Brooklyn, would be like, “I can’t wait to get your fucking hair back, this is bullshit! You look like shit! I fucking hate this!” [laughs]
Finally we got that last scene in episode 17 where I go back and I step onto the floor and she’s like, “Magnificent! He’s back!” and everyone’s like, “Yes! You’re back!”
Everyone knew we were going to shoot the scene but it wasn’t until I stepped onto the set in the full old school Penguin hair and jacket that everyone was like, “Yes!” I definitely got high fives from all of the grips.
Based on what we’ve seen, he seems more broken than ever. I mean, he feeds a woman her own children, which is definitely one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen on ‘Gotham.’ Now that he’s been mentally tortured, how far is he swinging to the maniacal side?
I don’t know. After that moment, watching as Penguin comes back into himself, he’s relearning who he is. I feel like he’s even more bipolar in a way. He’s more depraved than he’s ever been, but whatever Strange did to him, I think there’s still parts of that kindness in there weirdly.
Moving forward, instead of going completely unhinged, I see him carrying some of this new character with him. Even though everyone treated him like shit, I think he actually enjoyed being kind to people and learned something.
It’s what I’ve always said about him, there’s someone in there who really wants to be good and wants to be loved. Now that he knows kind of what it feels like to be gentle, I think he’s going to keep parts of that in him going forward.
I think it would be almost a disservice to going back to just being crazy Penguin who doesn’t give a shit. I think keeping parts of these things … maybe going forward, there is someone he does care about and does cherish.
The melding of those two sides, even when people are being mean to him during that kind stretch, he seemed so pleased whenever he got the tiniest bit of acceptance.
And I think if you go into the storyline of Penguin, and I don’t know where we’re going in the future of “Gotham,” but ideally I’d like him to be something of a politician, you know? This whole lesson that he’s learned and this empathetic side to him could really help if the writers decide to take him in that direction.
I think it’s the fourth episode where Galavan is trying to get him to work for him and tells him he has his mother held hostage. He says he’s not interested in Galavan’s plan and says, “I’m a builder. I create things, I don’t destroy things.”
I think all of this conditioning will help him become the builder, the connector, the person who creates a legacy for himself.
I know you can't spoil what's going to happen, but with so much happening on 'Gotham,' what is Penguin's direction at this point?
He goes through a period where it's almost like he's relearning who he is and how to live in Gotham City. It's about getting back to himself and who he is. What's going to help him do that is him focusing on the fact that Hugo Strange (BD Wong) is out there. He remembers what Hugo did to him and he doesn't let that go.
A lot of getting back to himself is getting revenge over what's happened to him.
But also, as you know, Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith) is coming back to town. There's a lot for him to deal with.
What can you say about Fish's return and having Jada back in set?
Oh my God, it was amazing! Just having her back ... we didn't have very many scenes together, but she's prominently featured in two episodes. Just having her there, it felt like having one of the anchors back on our show. It felt natural and familiar.
Also, again, it clarified Penguin in a way that hasn't been clarified. It put him into context with what happened last year.
And, really, just having Jada around is just fucking awesome. She's just great and I think she brings this real professionalism -- like this larger-than-life character that keeps out show in the right tone.
http://zap2it.com/2016/04/gotham-robin- ... sh-mooney/