Robin Lord Taylor (L) as Penguin and Ben McKenzie (R) as Jim Gordon

Question: Can you talk about how Oswald is working with Gordon and how they're helping each other at the moment? How long do you think that can last? Will Gordon take the moral high ground or are they going to keep giving each other help?

ROBIN: Well, I think part of Gordon's growth and his transformation as a character is basically him reconciling himself with the fact that he has to align himself with certain not-savory players in Gotham City in order to get what he wants done. So yes, I think this could essentially go on indefinitely because he is coming to realize that he needs Penguin, and Penguin has also realized back in the first season that he needed Gordon as well in order to get what he wants done. The interesting change that's happening, though, is that in the first season they were coming at each other with — Penguin was looking at Gordon as someone that he could actually trust and could be an actual friend for him.

ROBIN: But now, after what happened in the finale of the first season when Gordon basically left him to die in the hospital, the relationship is much more strained. And again, they do need each other. They need to come to each other to get things done, but it's now from a very wary — they're both very wary of each other at this point. It's a really interesting development between the two characters.

 Drew Powell (L) as Butch Gilzean and Robin Lord Taylor (R) as Penguin

Question: Can you talk about the path Oswald is on this year?

ROBIN: Well, he set out to achieve something in the first season and he did it; he succeeded. He became his own boss, his own man, and basically he proclaimed himself the king of Gotham. As with anything in Gotham City, though, nothing is easy, and now that he has achieved what he wants he's faced with a whole new set of issues in terms of how to maintain that, and how to stay on the top. I don't know if he's exactly prepared for that, and this whole season it's going to be about challenging his intellect, basically everything he has to do in order to stay the king of Gotham.

Question: So this year, Oswald doesn't really have any true allies. He has Butch, who's kind of brainwashed, and Selina, who really does her own thing. Do you think that being on his own makes Oswald stronger or weaker?

ROBIN: I think, essentially, he's very used to being on his own. He's never trusted anyone implicitly. It's always been him against the world. Again, the only person he trusts is his dear mother. But I do think that part of his lesson that he learns, being the king of Gotham now, is he's going to learn that he does need people. He's somewhat isolated, and I do actually believe that that does weaken him. He is going to have to learn how to invite people in and rely on them to a certain extent. That's part of his transformation this year, I think.

Question: What Is your partnership with Selina going to be like this season?

ROBIN: Selina does her own thing, and she slips in and out. What I love about her character is that she's very similar to Penguin -- she has no real allies except for maybe Bruce Wayne. And I think Oswald is very intrigued to have her around. She brings a new energy. He also enjoys the fact that she has that ability to infiltrate all sorts of groups, and I think he really wants to use that to his own advantage. Obviously we'll see how much Selina agrees with that or is down with that, but I think that's where Oswald is coming from.

Question: Does Oswald completely trust Butch being by his side, or does he have the suspicion of that he could still snap again because he was first loyal to Fish Mooney?

ROBIN: I think it may be a mistake that Oswald makes, but he really does trust in the brainwashing. He trusts in Victor Zsasz and his amazing handiwork in terms of getting people to do his bidding, and we'll see how that plays out. I think he relies on Butch. He needs someone like Butch to galvanize all of the players in Gotham City to be behind Oswald and to follow Oswald as we go forward, now that Falcone and Maroni are out of the picture. But yes, we'll definitely see if that's the smart choice or not.

 Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin

Question: You character is slowly descending into this iconic role of the Penguin even more. What are you looking at for inspiration? What are you looking at to inform how you take on this character and also how do you continue to make this character your own?

ROBIN: Well, in terms of inspiration, we're all very blessed on the show to have 77 years' worth of material to draw upon. The comics have been incredibly helpful for all of us, just to understand these characters and where they're coming from. And that's been a huge influence on me. And then also, in terms of performance, I look to my acting idols, the people I grew up watching, such as John Malkovich and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both of whom really, in terms of their acting style and how they approach characters that have a dark aide and yet finding the sympathy within those characters. That's definitely something that has influenced me. I give all credit to Bruno Heller. He has created such a clear vision for Oswald and where he's coming from and what drives him that, honestly, I just feel like the vessel. I feel like I'm just carrying his words onward. I just trust in him. I feel if I really think too hard about it, then it won't be as authentic.

Question: Are there any comics in particular that are your favorite that stand out for Oswald?

ROBIN: Well, definitely, the one that first comes to mind that was actually sent to me by Geoff Jones, head of DC, was "Penguin: Pain and Prejudice," which really delves into Oswald's past, and also, it's him as an adult looking back on his life, but also, you just really see how low, how evil, how truly manipulative and twisted that he becomes in the future. So that definitely informs my approach to the character and where he eventually ends up years down the line.

 Robin Lord Taylor (L) as Penguin and Carol Kane (R) as Penguin's mom, Gertrud Kapelput

Question: How is Oswald's mother going to react to his new role in Gotham this year. She's very supportive of him and all that, but is it going to overwhelm her to see the things that her son is doing?

ROBIN: I think very much so. There was the moment in the first season where Maroni basically told her what Oswald was doing — the violence and the murder and all of the darkness inside of him. But I think, like many parents, they're incapable of seeing the dark stuff. It's almost like she covers her eyes and closes her ears and out of sight, out of mind. She only wants to see what she believes that he is, which is a good person. But that will definitely be tested in this season. She will be confronted with, really, how dark he is, but also with the sympathy in that I think she believes that the choices he makes and has made are choices that he had to in order to survive.

 Cory Michael Smith as Nygma

Question: Given that this season is the rise of the villains, who are you enjoying watching rise as far as your villainous cohorts?

ROBIN: Oh, my main man, Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma. I just love what they did with the character in the first season in that it was very, very slow, a very slow burn, and we got to see the seeds of madness that are being planted there, and that just really comes to the forefront in Season 2, and I'm just thrilled. I find Cory to be a very inspiring person to work with, and I'm just thrilled just to see him embrace the character and watch the character flourish. Yes, that's definitely the one that I'm most excited for. I also think, what you're going to see with Jerome, who is played by Cameron Monaghan, be the Joker. I think everyone is going to be thrilled, including myself, to see how that progresses.

Question: With Penguin having declared himself the king of Gotham, are we going to start seeing him rise to that social status that he had in the comics where he's interacting both out of the underworld and in the underworld, where both sides are recognizing him as a big player?

ROBIN: Oh, definitely. And one of the things I'm most excited about in this season is his continuing relationship with Jim Gordon. Now Jim really has to face the monster that he had a hand in creating, and Jim is coming to realize that he needs Oswald as much as Oswald needs Jim, and to see the tension between the two of them, I think, is really exciting.

And also, for Oswald, it's very satisfying to watch Jim just have to come to him, have to approach him to help Jim further this plans to make Gotham City a better place. Oswald just loves the fact that he has power now,that Jim needs on his side.

 Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin

Question: When they transform you into Oswald they change your nose and your hair and everything. Do people recognize you when you're out in the real world or does that allow you a certain amount of anonymity?

ROBIN: People pretty much recognize me out in the world. With this blue-black hair, I guess it's very recognizable. But it's always so funny because people will come up and they'll be like, “Are you?” and then I'll be like, “Yes, I am,” and then they'll be like, “Wow, I wasn't sure, but then once you opened your mouth and you talked I was like ‘yes, it is him.'” Apparently there's something very distinguishing about my voice as well.

Question: Do you still keep the bottle cap in your shoe to help you with your limp, or is it just more natural now?

ROBIN: It's definitely coming more naturally. The really fascinating thing, I've never been a series regular on a show before, and then also, having all of this time to play this character and then to create a relationship with the writers of the show, the most amazing thing is that now, it's almost a symbiotic relationship between us. They have my interpretation of Oswald in their minds, so when they write the scenes I can tell that they're writing it for me and for my characterization of Oswald. And so it becomes a lot easier. The words just fly, and it's almost effortless, in a way. But I should say, there was a bottle cap in my shoe, but now it's been downgraded to two quarters stacked on top of each other, because the bottle cap was becoming a lot to deal with.

 Paul Reubens as Penguin's father, Tucker Cobblepot, in BATMAN RETURNS

Question: If you were to cast someone on this show, who would you like to see enter the world of Gotham?

ROBIN: I had the immense pleasure of meeting Paul Reubens the other day, and I've been a lifelong Peewee Herman fan and Paul Reubens fan, and I'm sure, as you know, he played Oswald's father in BATMAN RETURNS. I would just love it if we could get him on, if we could establish Oswald's parents and have it be Paul Reubens. That would be incredible.