Jada Pinkett Smith Really Loves Tapping Into Dark Side on FOX’s ‘Gotham’

Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney in ‘Gotham’

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.

Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney in ‘Gotham’

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.

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