‘Gotham’: Ben McKenzie On The Experience Of Directing An Episode

Ben McKenzie, who plays Jim Gordon on FOX‘s Gotham, has only been an actor thus far but it looks he wishes to step into directing. McKenzie will be making his debut with the upcoming episode entitled “Heroes Rise: These Delicate and Dark Obsessions.”

Gotham star Ben McKenziespoke with 21st Century Fox Blog about the opportunity and what went into it.

“They wrote the episode so I was on location in 15, so we could shoot everything in one day. I only missed one day of prep to film as an actor in episode 15, and that allowed me to go through the full process, which, honestly, I’ve been through before because I’ve shadowed directors both on Southland and Gotham… We have a very good cast who is very professional, very accommodating. I think I was more nervous than they were because the first time you switch roles and you’re on the other side, you’re trying to guide a scene into a direction that you think fits the story,” he said. “So, you have all these ideas in your head and, of course, when you show up and the actors come and bring all their ideas to it that are usually infinitely better than your own, you need to meld the two. You need to still accomplish what you set out to do and tell the story, but you need to listen to their input and use their input. It worked remarkably well.”

The Gotham actor then gave a tip for aspiring directors:

“Don’t make a decision on something you don’t need to make a decision on quite yet… Everyone’s going to come to you and ask you to make a million decisions on the first day. You don’t need to make them all immediately,” McKenzie said. “Some you need to make early on because they’re more important and determine the rest of the shooting. Many can wait. You can take your time, think about them, and come to a more reasoned and thought-through decision later on, and everyone benefits from that.”

Are you looking forward to Ben McKenzie’s directorial debut on Gotham? Let us know in the comments down below!

Source: 21st Century Fox Blog