This fall we’ll see Jada Pinkett Smith return to TV as the formidable Fish Mooney, “a sadistic gangster boss and nightclub owner” on FOX’s Gotham , a Batman origins story.
The 42-year-old actress/producer/rocker seems to really enjoy the dark role alongside her minion, Robin Taylor ‘s Oswald Cobblepot (who becomes The Penguin).
Take a look at what she told Access Hollywood at the Television Critics Association Summer Tour on July 20th.
“She’s the owner of a club right now and she wants to take over Gotham, basically, so we’ll see how that plays out. Fish is, she’s a very edgy woman with quite a temper, but I did kind of a mix of Griselda Blanco with Norma Desmond, Griselda Blanco being like one of the most notorious female gangsters… And then Norma Desmond from ‘Sunset Blvd.,’ so I did a mashup between the two.”
“It gives you an opportunity to kind of explore that more shadow side of your personality that we’re not really allowed to do on a daily basis, so having these two characters to be like pretty bad ass, is fun.”
The one-hour drama centers on the origins of Batman’s police department ally, Commissioner James Gordon, and the villains who made Batman’s hometown famous.
The cast also includes Ben McKenzie ( Southland / The O.C. ) as Jim Gordon; Sean Pertwee ( Alan Partridge / Event Horizon ) as tough ex-marine and Wayne Manor butler Alfred Pennyworth; Zabryna Guevara ( Burn Notice / 3 lbs. ) as Capt. Essen, Gordon’s boss at the Gotham City Police Department homicide squad; Erin Richards as Gordon’s fiancée Barbara Kean, an emergency room doctor; and Donal Logue ( Sons of Anarchy ) as Gordon’s partner and mentor Det. Harvey Bullock.
Gotham is directed by Danny Cannon ( Nikita ), who also an executive producer along with Bruno Heller ( The Mentalist / Rome ), who serves as part of the writing team with Bill Finger and Bob Kane . The show is set to premiere on September 22nd on FOX.
Author