Chris Chalk knows value.
Having appeared in projects such as Underground and 12 Years a Slave, he has experience in telling important historical stories. In Homeland and The Newsroom, he was part of hard-hitting television drama. Now, he takes on a completely different kind of role, playing Lucius Fox in Gotham, a new telling of the Batman mythology.
Although it would seem that moving from reality-based drama to the comic book world is a strange move for Chalk, he sees the value in each of the projects. Of Gotham, he says, “I like it, I like it a lot. It’s very different from things that I’ve tended to do in the past, and I’m very excited about that.
“I’m a comic book nerd, but I always did things and plays in New York that are very deep, and very socially responsible, and it’s nice to be like, ‘Oh let’s have a little fun and tell some stories,’ so I’m really liking it.”
He was also confirmed in his choice after recent appearances at ComiCon in San Diego and a crossover convention with fans of the WWE.
“It’s fun. We just did an event with WWE. The fan bases really cross over; there’s a lot of crossover between comic book and wrestling. It’s the heroes, the need for real life heroes vs. the ones on the page, and I’ve never in my life been more recognized for Gotham than when we did these events with WWE.
“It was like, ‘Oh, these people are very appreciative. Maybe I should be even more appreciative than I already am!’
“They know what color suit you wore in which episode, and which direction you turned. So, they’re a very loyal bunch, of which I’m very appreciative.
“I did my first ComicCon this year, and it was exhausting, and it was also where you get to see why this [kind of show] is valuable, coming from movies like 12 Years a Slave, which are obviously very valuable.
“Going to ComicCon, you see there’s a whole group of people who need this stuff too, that this really fulfills them. So it’s really nice. It’s fun.”
Reflecting on his career path and taking the role in Gotham, Chalk said, ”It seemed like a leap even when I did it. I wondered, ‘Is this on par with the direction I’m trying to go in?’
“Not only does it serve me, because i get to be the smartest guy in the room [as Lucius], and I love comic books, and it’s fun, but there’s also a section of the world that does need the decompression, and that’s what these comic book shows and movies get to do for them. And it’s entertainment, still.
“A lot of stuff I’ve done has been sort of “edgy-tainment,” but this is like straight up, let's have fun, and let’s enjoy these traditional characters in a new way. And people really get into it.
“So, there’s value in it, and I’m glad I get to see the fans who do know it so well. We all get to choose what we like, and everybody’s into something.“
The role also offered Chalk a character he hadn’t had the chance to play before. “In Homeland, [my character] is kind of a broken soldier, who is a POW, and he was broken and lost. Then you’ve got Newsroom. He’s kind of a subservient, my character, Gary Cooper.
“And what we get to have with Lucius is he’s the smartest guy in the room, and he’s the most grounded guy in the room. He rarely, if ever, puts himself in situations where he gets lost, where he doesn’t know where he’s at.
“And he’s not a violent man. I’ve played a lot of very violent, very misunderstood characters, and it’s nice to play a good guy, who happens to also be the smartest guy.”
Chalk is thoroughly enjoying working with the cast and crew of Gotham. “First of all, it’s fun because everybody is happy to be there, which is the key to any job. Everybody’s grateful, everybody’s happy.
“But then we get to walk into sets and go, wow - you built that in an hour? That’s a giant bomb! What do you people do for a living?
“It’s really fun when you walk into a new set and you see the tiny little details. Like, I have a little pad that I carry around. And it’s like the very first iPad, so it’s the prototype for all of them. It’s this old-school looking thing, and we never use it, but they’re ready just in case.
"And I love how that much detail goes into every little decision over there. It’s really great.
“[Gotham] has this nice convenience of being no time. So, if somebody needs a cell phone, they can have one, but it can’t be a cell phone cell phone. But, usually, nobody has a cell phone. It’s advanced technology mixed with stuff that’s so old-school, especially the costuming is very 40s, 50s, 60s. “
Stepping into a world that is already so well known also requires a bit of research. “When I first got [the role] I got what I could find. Lucius is kind of, he’s not neglected, but he’s kind of here and there. He does have a couple of story lines.
“There’s a current line where his son is one of the Batmen. So, in that comic, he gets featured a ton.
“I’ve read, I think, all of the ones I could get my hands on that Lucius is in. In the very first one, he’s actually a dude in distress. He gets caught, and Batman has to come save him and Alfred. And you learn a lot about him and Alfred.
“Lucius really doesn’t fight at all. He never does. Never has. It was a neat little discovery. He’s been a behind-the-scenes man for a long time.”
However, as things go in Gotham, Chalk’s Lucius may be a bit different. “I studied jujitsu, so I’m hoping to sneak in a little. He’s choosing not to fight, as opposed to he can’t and won’t.
“But I don’t know. This season as he’s starting to work with the GCPD, he’s starting to get a little bit more involved with the everyday goings on of the police department, so I think he will have to take a stand at some point and have to find his limits.
“I think in the show right now, you’re seeing these people start to become the ideal versions of themselves that we know. There’s a chance for Lucius to learn that he’s not a guy of violence. Like he did with the bomb (at the end of last season), ‘Oh, that’s a little stressful for me.’ How can I help, but back up a little bit?
“I think we’ll get to see a little more about that. He’ll start to develop more technology as the season comes on, as his way of being useful, not only for Bruce Wayne, but for the city of Gotham. “
Lucius’s relationship with the young Bruce Wayne will also change as the season goes on. “It evolves. It becomes a way of, how can I help Bruce, even though I’m not with him on an everyday basis right now?
“So, right now, I think we’re on episode 307, we haven’t even talked yet, Bruce and Lucius. But they’re both still definitely working for the same goals at this point.”
As Lucius is working with a different segment of Gotham City, Chalk is also working with a different group of castmates this season. “It’s really nice. I think we’ll all end up being together, just because the show loves to bring everybody together in the penultimate moment.
“But it’s nice. I get to work a lot with Ben [McKenzie, playing Jim Gordon] and Donal [Logue, as Harvey Bullock] and [Michael] Chiklis (Captain Barnes), and that’s always fun, to get to hang out with different people and swap stories.
"It’s more fun off set than on set, probably, because we spend so much time off set talking and hanging out. And this cast is really good about getting to know each other.
"It’s like an unspoken - or maybe it has been spoken - rule that if guest stars or visitors come to our set, they have to have a blast, which means we already have to be a team and have so much fun and be present and good to each other.
“And I feel like that’s happened so far. Everybody I know that’s worked on the show is like, ‘Oh man, I can’t wait to work on it again. You guys are having so much fun.’ And that’s what we try to do. Even on the stressful days, it’s like we gotta remember, this is an awesome job.”
Having such a job is not something Chalk ever takes for granted. “I’m super grateful for my job. I love it so much.” He says he never wants to lose sight of how special it is to be able to do this work. “It’s like, you sit back and say, wait a minute. This is my life? This is what I get to do every day?
“It’s like, thank you. Thank you! Whoever opened the path, all the teachers, and whatever, thank you. This is great. Let’s just be super grateful that anybody even cares what we’re talking about. Anybody even cares what we’re thinking.
"There’s also a lot of actors and actresses and playwrights and journalists who you never hear from ever, because they’re in a smaller market or they’ve quit the job, so what a great gift we have to still be playing.”
Because Gotham is shot in New York, Chalk sometimes finds himself missing Los Angeles, where he worked for a long time. “New York is tough. It’s unnecessarily tough. Just getting down the street is like, I think I’ve burned 2,000 calories just getting my energy down the street.
“I love New York. It’s irreplaceable, and it built my skill set, because I came up acting in New York, and now I’m like, 'Yeah, I can handle a little more beach, a little more hiking, camping, just hanging out.' I’m ready. I’ve earned it, I think. “
However, as long as he in in the real Gotham, he is putting his theater background to good use. “I’m directing a play in September, a little rough cut production of my friend’s play for Ensemble Studio Theater, and I’ll do readings here and there.
“But with Gotham shooting nine months out of the year, it’s hard to squeeze one in, because it’s real work. When you come back to New York, you remember that this is real. Not that TV and film aren’t real work in their own way, but doing a show eight days a week is tough. Those are the soldiers. They truly earn their money.
“I mean, I do too, but… I have a friend who feels really guilty about his financial success. I told him, for my first play, I made $50 for eight weeks. This is back pay now. Everything I did for five or six years paid me $200 a week. It balances out. I think. Probably, when it’s all said and done, I will have made $20 an hour on average. Maybe. I did a lot of free plays early on, or plays where they paid you so little you wished they were free so it didn’t feel offensive.”
Another perk of his current work is his membership in the Television Academy. “I just joined this year. And I thought, why didn’t I join before this?
“I joined because I realized I could, but I realized that I should join because of a lot of the shows I’m in and my peers, and I’m such a fan of TV and acting and directing and scripts and I actually have a skill set to know what’s good, or at least good for me.
“So I thought, I want to vote. I should have a say. I have a pretty educated opinion about all this, that’s a diverse opinion that needs to be heard. I think it was through Underground that I heard, 'You need to join.' And I thought, you can just join?
“And they said, yeah, if you qualify, you can join. And I thought, I’ve qualified for years. I had no idea. So, I’m really excited to have a say and get in the conversation. Not just the conversation you have over coffee, but the actual conversation about who gets honored.”
He’s especially proud to be part of that conversation right now, as television is opening up and becoming ever more diverse.
“Just looking at the very long list of who you get to select from, I thought, 'Oh my gosh. This is everybody. Black, white, green, yellow, purple, orange.' I mean, it was like, Thank you. This is nice. And then the end result of who’s being nominated, I’m very happy that everybody is being represented.
“And the most important part is that it doesn’t feel like an act. It doesn’t feel like sympathy nominations. It feels like, these people had amazing parts on amazing shows, that had the opportunity to be seen, and be recognized, which is more important.
“Nobody wants the one where it’s just, here, take it, just because you happen to be a minority. It’s that you’re an awesome actor, an awesome director, an awesome cinematographer, and we want to recognize you because you did well, and we gave you the opportunity.
“TV’s doing a really good job of giving everybody opportunities. And it will get better, it will reach a balance. And right now I think it’s important to realize that TV is really doing it.”
Gotham airs on Mondays at 8:00 p.m.on FOX.
