Morgan Freeman can be a tough act to follow but, luckily for Gotham fans, Chris Chalk has certainly been up to the task.
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Chalk knew when he first took on the role of Lucius Fox a couple of years ago that people would want to compare him to Freeman, who played the character in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. However, Chalk wasn’t intimidated by his iconic predecessor, and he knew that he could stand apart.
While speaking with CinemaBlend and a few other outlets during a round table at the recent DC in D.C. 2018 event, Chalk revealed that he was happy to be the first to follow Freeman.
“I’m lucky because it’s only him,” the actor said. “It’s him and cartoons and video games. And so, all I have to do — I have to do more than show up — but because he is the definitive in our brain, because he’s the only one, anything else I do that honors the storytelling is super valid. And that’s the exciting part, that I get to create this thing that he can’t even touch, because he’s 900 years old. [laughs] He is the oldest person. He was old when he was young. He has always looked like this. But it’s kind of a nice little pocket. To play him at that age, forget about it. ‘Nah, nah, Morgan Freeman did it. No, I’m not gonna do it.’ But because I have this 40-year gap to build my version, it’s exciting.”
He certainly isn’t wrong. Morgan Freeman is one of the most recognizable and iconic actors of our time, so people will likely think about him when it comes to any role he’s played. But, as Chalk said, Freeman’s take on the character had a lot to do with his age. Instead of playing the grizzled business veteran/inventor, Chalk gets to play a version of Lucius Fox that’s in his prime, working alongside the G.C.P.D. and coming up with new technologies.
Just as Sean Pertwee has done with Alfred following Michael Caine’s turn as the character, Chris Chalk has reinvented Lucius in a way that Gotham fans have come to love.
Gotham is set to return with new episodes on FOX this spring.
