Days after casting Ben McKenzie as young James Gordon, FOX’s Batman prequel series Gotham has cast its Alfred Pennyworth, Sarah Essen, and The Penguin.
Dog Soldiers and Equilibrium actor Sean Pertwee, 50, will play Alfred and Robin Lord Taylor (The Walking Dead) will young Oswald Cobblepot. Zabryna Guevara (Burn Notice) has been cast as Captain Sarah Essen. Welsh actress Erin Richards (The Quiet Ones, Being Human) has been cast as Gordon’s fiancee Barbara Kean.
Sean Pertwee and Batman: Earth One’s Alfred.
The official press release describes Cobblepot as follows: “With the brains of a chess grandmaster and the morals of a jackal, Oswald Cobblepot is a low-level psychopath (for gangster Fish Mooney) who hides his sadistic lust for power behind an exquisitely polite demeanor.”
Essen is Gordon’s boss at the GCPD Homicide Squad. She “balances the two worlds of police and politics with a Machiavellian skill that’s as much corporate litigator as cop.”
The pilot’s description of Alfred seems in line with his Earth One portrayal: “A tough-as-nails ex-marine from East London, Alfred Pennyworth has loyally served the Waynes. Now, in the wake of their tragic deaths, he’s fiercely protective of the young Bruce Wayne.”
Barbara Kean, A “sophisticated emergency room doctor”, is described as “joyful but with an edge of vulnerability. She stands by her future husband…which can be difficult in a world as corrupt as Gotham.”
Gotham cast members Zabryna Guevara (L), Robin Lord Taylor (C), & Erin Richards (R).
Danny Cannon (Judge Dredd) will direct the Gotham pilot from a script by Rome’s Bruno Heller.
