Dr. Victor Fries aka Mr. Freeze is about to bring chill to the hearts of the citizens of "Gotham" City when the FOX series returns after its winter break.
TV Line was the first to mention that viewers would get to see the iconic character in the midseason finale. Executive producer John Stephens told the website that episode 12 ad 13 would be focusing mostly on the Mr. Freeze story. The team behind the hit crime drama series has tapped Nathan Darrow, best known for his role as Kevin Spacey's bodyguard in "House of Cards," to play the part. The actor has a recurring role in "Billions" of Showtime and recently landed a role as Andrew Madoff in "Wizard of Lies" with Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer.
According to Batman Wikia, Dr. Fries was deep in cryogenic research when his wife Nora acquired a crippling disease. While he was searching for a cure, he put her in suspended animation, but GothCorp's CEO Ferris Boyle refused to approve Fries' research. When he caused an accident by pulling the plug on Nora's life-saving apparatus, he inadvertently turned Fries to a literal cold-blooded creature that could only survive at subzero temperatures.
Fries wanted to avenge what happened to Nora and he believed Batman must also be blamed. He devised several weapons used to freeze his enemy. Since he could not survive in a normal environment, he created a cryogenic suit to protect his body. Fries was described as a brilliant man, but a loner, as he struggled to connect with people around him. It was only Nora who managed to breach the shell he has erected around him and when she died, he felt more alone than before.
In an interview with USA Today, Darrow expressed his excitement in portraying the iconic DC villain, who was once played by Arnold Schwarzenegger back in 1997. He also talked about his character and how cool it would be to give his own take on it during the shoot.
"Victor has one central intimate human connection, and that's with his wife. There's something really, really interesting and vulnerable and difficult about that. In some of the research I did on the character as he has evolved in the comic book, he has a more tenuous connection with humanity and his own humanity, and she's it," Darrow said.
"Gotham" season 2 will return on Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. on FOX.
