Ben McKenzie famously played James ‘Jim’ Gordon in the Batman prequel series Gotham from 2014 to 2019, voiced several DC universe projects and became a renowned name in the franchise. It turns out creator Bruno Heller saw it coming as he wrote part of Gordon keeping McKenzie in mind!
In conversation with Collider at Fan Expo Canada, Mckenzie and his wife Morena Baccarin—who was also part of the prequel series as Dr. Lee Thompkins—spoke about their time on the show. The actor recalled getting a call from Heller who told him, “I’ve written the part of Gordon with you in mind, which was very flattering.”
Double the pressure, McKenzie recalled the days ahead of the shoot as nerve-wracking. “I was both excited and nervous. I mean it’s big shoes to fill,” he added. The police commissioner of Gotham P.D. has been a crucial character in Batman’s universe and through the years many legendary actors like Gary Oldman, JK Simmons, and Jeffrey Wright have portrayed it on screen.
After Mckenzie conveyed his experience on Gotham sets, Baccarin also weighed in and talked about her character’s evolution through the series. She played Dr. Lee Thompkins who worked at the psych ward of the infamous Arkham Asylum which will be featured in the upcoming hotly anticipated Joker sequel.
“My character had changed quite a bit from the beginning of the show, which was really cool,” the actress recalled. The character, first introduced in the comics in 1976, evolved through the course of the show. When she was brought on board, she had no idea where or how long her character would be in the picture, so it was a pleasant surprise.
Lee ultimately became a core part of the story after marrying Gordon and becoming stepmother to Barbara Gordon who would eventually become Batgirl. “Once Lee became sort of a core part of the story, then it was trying to figure out how to give her something to do independent of Jim [Gordon],” Baccarin added.
She recalled being “bad” and to “run a city” and explore a dark side to the city as something really cool. “Where it ended was also really great,” she added.
