Gotham's Camren Bicondova Talks Becoming Selina, Her Favorite Catwomen and Hopes For an Animated Gotham

Defying the conventional wisdom that child actors in genre shows will have a rough go of things [...]

Defying the conventional wisdom that child actors in genre shows will have a rough go of things with the fans, Gotham's David Mazouz and Camren Bicondova -- Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, respectively -- have been acclaimed for their performances on the Fox hit this season.

Bicondova, though, said that she hadn't heard anything about that, being busy on the set of the series.

During an interview with ComicBook.com, she told us a little bit about working with Mazouz and how it's changed her view of Selina Kyle as a character, what makes the Catwoman-to-be tick and some of her favorite past iterations of Batman and Catwoman.

Is there a bit of a wider range of emotion open to you now that you're playing off David?

Doing the scenes with David introduced me to a little bit of a different aspect of Selina because I realized that she isn't just a street thief and a survivor; she's actually a normal girl. That would be what would change my approach a little more.

I hadn't thought of it until you said it, but do you think some of her snark and attitude is a defense mechanism?

Definitely. I think surviving on the streets of Gotham and the fact that she's fourteen and living on her own, she's had to learn a lot in a small amount of time. I think being harsh and not showing very many emotions is a defense mechanism, for sure.

You're pretty young; is this the first time you've played a character who's the smartest person in the room all the time?

Yes, this would be my first time. I don't think there's any other character like Selina because she's so unpredictable. She's very mischievous and very challenging to play at times, because she feels emotions but she hides them. So it's challeniging showing emotions she's trying to hide but that's what makes the character so lovable, I think. That's the fun part of my job.

How would you characterize Selina's arc this season?

Hmm...the main word that I can think of to characterize Selina is that she's just surviving. 

How many different iterations of Batman have you seen?

I watched the '60s TV show with Adam West, I've been reading comic books and watched some movies. I've mainly been focusing on the comic books.

If you could inhabit one of those spaces, which one would it be?

I'm not really sure. I like all of them. Based on what's already out there, I think it would be cool to be part of a cartoon version of Batman. I do think it would be cool if a cartoon version of Gotham existed. I think it would be very cool to be part of that.

Do you have a favorite take on Catwoman?

I love Julie Newmar and Michelle Pfeiffer. Those two stand out the most to me, but everybody is amazing in their own ways.

Obviously, the last two women to play this character were Oscar winners. That's an interesting club to be a part of. Did you feel any pressure stepping into this role just because of everyone who had come before?

Yes. [Laughs] There's just a little bit of pressure suddenly being part of such an amazing group of actresses. It's intimidating for me because this is my first TV job. The fact that I'm part of a group of seven women who all played this character, it's insane and it's amazing.

Is there a favorite setting you've had for Selina so far? Other than Bullock and Gordon, you're the only character who's really been everywhere.

I really enjoy being on rooftops. There's no specific set that I enjoy but I do like being on rooftops and scaffolding and ladders because it allows me to do things that I wouldn't ordinarily get to do in Camren's life, so that's really fun.

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