Bruce Wayne wasn’t always Batman. At one point, he was an innocent young boy who witnessed the execution of his parents in an alley. Gotham begins the tale when that pivotal event takes place and young Bruce meets the honest Gotham police officer, Jim Gordon.
David Mazouz (Touch) talks about his experience playing the iconic Bruce Wayne, Bruce’s emotional state after his parents’ deaths, the relationship with Jim Gordon and more in our interview.
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Read on for edited excerpts from our conversation with Mazouz. There are minor spoilers from Gotham‘s premiere episode.
The Bruce we see in Gotham is far from the man who becomes Batman. Through the first few episodes, are there any characteristics of the future Bruce Wayne that you are playing with?
Sure. You see in the pilot and throughout the first season, Bruce is determined. He’s definitely strong. He’s on a maturity level that most kids are not on and he kind of understands things the way an adult understands things. From the beginning, his parents raised him in a way to always be kind. He’s smart and he’s looking into Gotham. You’ll also see about half way through the season, he starts to have some anger and you’ll see him want to learn how to do that more, how to fight, you will definitely see that this season. Batman’s obviously a fantastic fighter. And you’ll see his intelligence and his ability to find clues. You’ll see those character traits throughout the first season.
In the pilot, Bruce doesn’t meet Selina Kyle, but she’s watching over him. Do you think their relationship will be friendly or more adversarial to start?
I don’t want to give too much away about their relationship. It will happen later in the season, I can tell you that much. She’s watching over over him in the first episode and you don’t really know why and there are a lot of questions about her character, like where does she live? Those questions will be answered. You will see their relationship happen later in the season and it will be a cool one.
What is Bruce’s state of mind after his parents were killed and he finds out the truth about their murder? Does he confide in anyone?
You will definitely see him go through the different stages of grieving, especially the first half of the first season. As soon as his parents get killed, years and years of maturity go into him. He becomes very adult-like. He says some things that you really will not expect at all a kid to say. He speaks at a level of understanding, his comprehension is amazing of what the city’s going through.
You’ll see it’s just really cool because he is dark, he’s scary, he’s lonely, he’s vulnerable, he’s looking for a friend, he’s looking for any reason for his parents’ death. He becomes compulsive about certain things. He’ll grow an obsession starting in the fifth episode of the season or around there. He’s going to go through different stages of the grieving process and hopefully soon enough he’ll become a “regular” kid again.
What is Bruce’s relationship with Detective Gordon over the first few episodes? Do they interact much?
Yes, they do. They have a bond. He finds out that Jim Gordon lost his dad at such a young age as well. So he has a respect for him and immediately looks up to him. We’ll see their relationship continue and go through different stages as well. Eventually, you’ll see why Bruce Wayne chose Jim Gordon to be the one on the vigilante task force when he becomes Batman why he trusts him. Their relationship really strengthens.
Gotham premieres Monday, September 22 at 8pm ET on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX.)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Contributing Editor and Writer for Collider, BuddyTV, TV Fanatic, CliqueClack, and other publications. TV criticism, reviews, interviews with actors and producers, and other related content. Founder of TV Diehard.
