Character evolution was satisfying: Cory Michael Smith

American actor Cory Michael Smith, currently portrays Edward Nygma in the Fox television drama series Gotham. He appeared in Camp X-Ray in 2014, shares about his role in Gotham.

How much crazier will things get for Edward Nygma in Season Three of Gotham?
First and foremost, I think we need to figure out how to get out of Arkham. There’s a time jump at the beginning of Season Three, so time has passed. Nygma’s now spent months and months and months and months and months in Arkham by himself, so his spirit is down. But once he is out and free – and has a fresh shower and a nice meal –he will make some friends in the real world.

How has time in the asylum changed Nygma?
I think we’re going to see someone who, though he doesn’t have the identity of Riddler yet, has an understanding of who he is. He actually learned a lot in Arkham and made friends quite easily, so there’s a lot of confidence coming out in himself and his abilities. He’s not even going to try to play nice or be good again – at least, that’s not going to be his intention. We’re going to see someone who is coming out as a fuller human; with more experience and he’s a bit tougher. And he doesn’t have to go to work at GCPD anymore, so he gets to start a new life.

Are you chomping at the bit to get closer to his metamorphosis into the Riddler?
I had so much fun last year. The evolution that they gave the character was so fun and satisfying. I pretty much know the arc for this year and I am super-stoked. It really, truly feels like I have grown with this character, or at least changed so much. I love television for that. It’s so cool to actually get to tell a story of a character changing this significantly, and I think there is still so far to go.

When you first took on the role, did you envisage it holding such opportunities?
We had no idea it would work out like this. We didn’t even have a script when we auditioned. I’m super-stoked about the idea of contributing to the canon and part of the mythology that hasn’t been explored yet. That was enticing for me to do it. But everything’s been a surprise, and everything’s been a surprise for the writers, too.

Have the writers altered direction from their original plans?
When we were filming episode nine of Season One, we went back and added the character of Kristen Kringle [played by Chelsea Spack] into episode six because they thought, ‘We’ve got to give Cory a storyline.’ I was like, “Yeah. You’ve got to give me a storyline!” So we went back and added her to the story. She was only supposed to be around for two episodes, but we hit it off so well and it was such an interesting version of Ed that we hadn’t seen yet. At that point, we said, “This is going to be his first downfall.” They made that decision based on the connection that Chelsea Spack and I had, so the show is definitely a moving, living creature that we all respond to.

How did you prepare for the audition of such an iconic role?
I read a lot of comics, but I didn’t watch Frank Gorshin or Jim Carrey’s performances. Instead, I tried to read comics from different decades. I realized how much the character had been reinterpreted and reimagined and redrawn, but I felt freedom and the allowance to do my own thing – and not apologize for it. If I was authentically following our bible, which is our script, then it would be a unique version of the Riddler unto itself and hopefully people would respond well to it. But I distilled the DNA of the character – the parts about Edward from all the different decades that he’s been around – and created a DNA.

What’s been the most satisfying aspect of this journey so far?
One thing I really wanted to do was tell the story of a boy becoming a man. Here was an underdeveloped 28-year-old virgin boy who was socially inept and doesn’t understand people. He talks a little too loud and everything’s a little tight and a little forced, and there’s a lot of effort. He grows into this person who stops trying and becomes a man. He has sex and he starts to find his power, as well as his voice. We’ve been able to do that, which is great. Now, he gets a fresh start, aware of who he is; aware that he is a murderer – but he’s free. That’s very cool in my eyes.

As the show progresses, is there more room to improvise or do you stick to the script all the time?
If you’re talking about actual lines, we have a great team of writers. I change words here and there – but the delivery is all me; the interpretation of the scene is all me. Now we’re in the third season, I actually get to communicate a lot with [executive producers] John Stephens, Danny Cannon and Bruno Heller. I say, “These are my favorite comics. These are the versions of the Riddler that I really love, that I find exciting, that I find modern and terrifying; that really nail his glee.” I’m able to participate in that manner and suggest storylines, but what they have imagined for this year is so good. It’s fantastic.

Would you like to see more people from Ed’s past turn up in Gotham?
We will be seeing some of that this year. One thing that I think is really great is the fact that parents matter in the Batman universe. There are some comics that allude to his relationship with his father, and we’re going to get into his past because we haven’t talked about it on the show yet. We don’t know anyone that knows Ed before, so we’re going to touch on that for sure.
Gotham Season 3 premieres on Zee café from 10 pm.