Michael Chiklis is set to join FOX’s Gotham cast as a regular member, and is set to portray a character called Nathaniel Barnes, or rather, Captain Barnes of the GCPD. Barnes will serve as a something akin to a mentor to Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Perhaps most people either know of or remember Chiklis specifically for his portrayal of the protagonist, Detective Vic Mackey, on FX’s crime drama/thriller series, The Shield, which ran for seven seasons. Mackey was a corrupt cop whose methods were usually brutal, despite the fact that he attempted to be a proper father and husband. Conversely, Captain Barnes will be more of a “law and order zealot,” which should imply that he won’t freely brutalize criminals, or steal drugs that should be logged as evidence. Chiklis is not unfamiliar with portraying a tough cop, and should be an excellent addition to Gotham. Additionally, let’s take a look at what we know about the Captain Barnes character so far.
[Captain Barnes] lands on the GCPD like a tornado, ripping out the dead wood of Gotham’s police force. He is a law and order zealot; unafraid of making enemies – on either side of the law. For Gordon, Barnes is a hero and a mentor, someone with whom he can share the burden of heroism. Captain Barnes proves himself to be a strong ally to Gordon…but one day he will make an equally powerful enemy.
Chiklis also has experience with comic book related material, and has portrayed the Thing in the films, Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
According to the executive producer, Bruno Heller, Season 2 of Gotham will see the city fall deeper into chaos as villains rise. Perhaps the Captain Barnes character will provide an additional moral compass to Jim Gordon, despite the fact that Gordon’s moral compass is arguably the strongest one on the show, thus far.
Gotham Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on Monday, September 21 at 8/7c on FOX.
Stay tuned, and enjoy.