When Fox’s “Gotham” returns Monday evening, David Mazouz’s Bruce Wayne is one step closer to coming-of-age to make a difference in the city. And just in time, it seems, as Fox has promoted the remainder of the current season as “Wrath of the Villains.” With actors Nathan Darrow and B. D. Wong joining the sophomore as Mr. Freeze and Dr. Hugo Strange respectively, Gotham’s finest – with Wayne budding along the sidelines – will have to do their best to stop these new foes.
David Mazouz plays the young, blossoming Bruce Wayne as someone concentrated on trying to pave his own path in the city he calls home. From the recent traumatic experiences dealing with Theo Galavan to finding out who his true friends out and cementing his legacy as the one day World’s Greatest Detective, Bruce is becoming his own man.
Newsarama caught up with Mazouz right before he was called to set on episode 20 and mentioned a few things about Bruce that fans can look forward to for the remainder of the season.
Newsarama: So David, “Gotham’s” second season is beginning to establish some of Batman’s more out there villains with the likes of Mr. Freeze and Hugo Strange, what is that like for you not only as a cast member, but as a fan as well?
David Mazouz: Incredible. I find it interesting to see how these people came to be, especially for somebody like Freeze. I mean, almost all of our villains come from a place of good intentions and then they get a little too out of hand. I love doing this with all these characters, especially Strange and Freeze because they are just incredible. You’ll just have to see!
Nrama: So this season for Bruce is still finding himself and a way to channel this rage because of the lost of his parents. Now, one of the recent clips has him confronting the man he thinks killed his parents. We don’t see a moment like this played out in live action often, I think the last time we saw it was in “Batman Begins” with Christian Bale, so what was your process of playing this scene out?
Mazouz: That scene is my favorite scene out of “Gotham’s” entirety. I don’t want to give too much away because it won’t air for another couple weeks, I think the moment where Bruce sees the man who destroyed his life right in front of him Bruce has the upper hand. It’s a defining moment and I love that scene. Just love it.
Nrama: You and Sean Pertwee have this back-and-forth dynamic as Bruce and Alfred. You’re mad at him, he’s mad at you, you make up… it’s this cycle that keeps going, but you find a way in the middle to meet each other. Where do you see Bruce and Alfred’s relationship for the rest of the season?
Mazouz: You know I love Alfred and Bruce’s relationship because it’s so dynamic. When Bruce’s parents were alive, Alfred was simply “the help”. He was essentially the maid, he was the guy who cleaned up after Bruce and they never really had much of a relationship. When his parents died, Bruce didn’t really know how to connect with Alfred. As the season went on they developed this father-son relationship because Alfred was all that Bruce had. Now that Bruce is growing up and becoming stronger, Alfred will be more offensive and taking charge. As he’s doing that, the father-son relationship transforms into more of a partnership. There’s going to be more of this equalness as they continue to work together.
Nrama: We don’t see a lot of interpretations of Bruce at this age. We see him at the age of his parents getting murdered, and then fast forward to him in his 20s training, and then finally donning the cape and cowl, but not a whole lot in between. What’s been the biggest inspiration for you as an actor when you’re playing Bruce coming into his own?
Mazouz: You know, I don’t think I need too much inspiration because the writers have it down; they know what’s going on and I have complete faith in them. They’re brilliant, all of the writers. I think as an actor when looking back at all of the interpretations of Batman… well what I personally do for the most part is what the writers tell me to do. They know the script, so I go where they’re going, and at the same time when I come across something cool in other interpretations of Batman… for example I just came across something in the comics where you see Bruce and how he’s under so much stress all the time. I read that and thought “that’s actually kinda cool”, maybe I can use that. So, yeah, I like to go with the writers for the most part, but try to mix it with other iterations of Batman.
Nrama: In the first season, he’s pretty traumatized still and very reclusive. This season, we’ve really seen him become the Prince of Gotham, which has you working with more of the cast. What has that been like for you?
Mazouz: It’s been great. With what Bruce is doing is, as you say, in the first season especially, he’s sheltered. I don’t want to give away much spoilers for people that aren’t caught up but he went through something pretty traumatic in the mid-season finale this season and it’s a wake up call for him. He realizes that he has to go out there, he has to do things for himself now. He can’t simply tip is toe in the water anymore. Bruce realizes he can’t sit around and watch the people of Gotham suffer anymore; he has to do something about it.
Nrama: What would you like to see at the beginning of season 3, especially from Bruce?
Mazouz: I would love to see Bruce’s dual personality kind of come to life. When Batman becomes Batman, there’s this detective persona that we’re hinting at on the show, but there’s also Bruce Wayne: Gotham City’s playboy drunk who had kinda wasted his life. I would love to see the Bruce facade and kind of develop that persona. I’ve been talking to the writers about that and it’s coming soon.
Nrama: Lastly, David, is there any scene that you’ve already filmed or that’s coming up that you’re really excited to see play out?
Mazouz: Well, I mean, there’s a scene we haven’t shot yet, but yeah, we’re shooting episode 20 right now and I just got the script for the second to last episode and I mean man, Bruce is on a mission. That’s all I’m going to say, but Bruce is going to be knocking some doors down and I’m really, really excited to shoot that because it has another one of those scenes that I had with the guy who killed my parents.
