As many villains as Fox’s catastrophicGothamhas teased thus far, there’s clearly quite a lot of master criminals and, well, homicidal lunatics to bring out. For months now, I’ve secretly been dreaming ofSilicon Valley’sZach Woodsplaying the younger version of Ventriloquist, but then, a comic actor of Woods' caliber might very well take a look at the script for…any…episode ofGothamand not-so-politely decline. That being said, the news today thatNathan Darrow, who plays Meechum inHouse of Cards, will soon appear as one of Gotham’s greatest villains suggests that the show will be adding some solid supporting players. The villain in question? The cryogenics engineer Victor Fries, more commonly known as Mr. Freeze, who eventually dons a suit that keeps him alive and gives him the power to turn people and things into glaciers.
You may be more familiar withArnold Schwarzenegger’s disastrous take on the character fromJoel Schumacher’s horrendousBatman & Robin. The character was only done well in one, perhaps inevitable instance, that being onBatman: The Animated Series, one of the top five best animated programs the 1990s produced;Star TrekveteranMichael Ansaravoiced the character. Darrow, however, could do very well with such a character, considering that much of his work inHouse of Cardsdepended on him conveying a series of emotions without saying much; Freeze is known for his, er, cold outward demeanor.
The character actor, who will next be seen inBillionsalongsideDamien LewisandPaul Giamatti, will begin appearing in Gotham come the November 30th episode, with no real word on how his road to becoming the villain will be paced or, for that matter, how Nora Fries will figure into the hash of nonsense onGotham. Darrow may indeed prove a rare respite from the rampant silliness that the show has become primarily marked by.
