Following the launch of the first episode of Fox's "Gotham" television series, actor Ben McKenzie spoke with Collider to talk about his character and the other characters of the show.
In the show, McKenzie portrays Gotham City Police detective James Gordon. As Gordon, he takes on the task of investigating the murder of the parents of a young Bruce Wayne.
Based on the "Batman" comic books and Gary Oldman's portrayal of the same character in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" film series, Gordon has been known as a mustache-wearing law enforcer.
In the series, however, Mckenzie sports a clean-shaven face. According to the actor, since the show focuses on younger versions of "Batman" characters, he wasn't required to grow a mustache. For him, the facial hair comes with the maturity of the character, Uproxx reported.
"We just literally never talked about it," the actor said about the character's moustache. "And then, I brought it up to [creator Bruno Heller] and he said, "No, that would look ridiculous on you. We're not doing that."
"It's 20 years before he can grow into the maturity and wisdom that it takes to sport a mustache, and that's the line we're sticking to," he added. "Maybe 20 years from now, the moustache will feel earned. For the record, I can grow the moustache."
When asked who his favorite villain in the series is, the actor can't seem to decide which bad guy fascinates him the most.
"Because he's front and center in the pilot, I'm really excited for people to see what Robin is doing with the Penguin," he said. "I have a weird soft spot in my heart for [Edward] Nygma. I've always liked The Riddler. I know that is a very unorthodox choice."
"A lot of people hate The Riddler, but I find The Riddler fascinating," he continued. "And I think the Scarecrow is really cool."
Aside from the human characters from the comic books, McKenzie hinted that the show could feature other monstrous characters in future episodes or seasons, according to Comic Book Resources.
"There has been no talk, thus far, that I am aware of, of the non-human Batman villains, but I'm not in the writers' room, obviously," he said. "I think we'll start with the humans, and then we'll branch out from there."
"We're only eight episodes into shooting, so we've hopefully - knock on wood - got a long way to go, and we can bring those people, or non-people, in, if need be," McKenzie added.