Oswald Cobblepot (Gotham) Oswald Cobblepot (Gotham) Oswald Cobblepot, known as The Penguin, is a fictional character who appears as one of the primary antagonists on the Fox TV series Gotham. He is portrayed by American actor Robin Lord Taylor and is based on the character of the same name, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, that appears as one of Batman's greatest foes. He has been considered the show's breakout character. "Gotham" marks the second time that The Penguin was portrayed on live television, with the first being in the 1960s "Batman" series in which Burgess Meredith played him. In taking on
Burgess Meredith on the show in a starring role. In his first appearance in 1959, "Time Enough at Last", he portrayed a henpecked bookworm who finds himself the sole survivor of an unspecified apocalypse which leads him to contemplate suicide until he discovers the ruins of the library. In 1961's "Mr. Dingle, the Strong", Meredith played the title character, a timid weakling who receives superhuman strength from an extraterrestrial experiment in human nature. Also that year in "The Obsolete Man", Meredith portrayed a librarian sentenced to death in a dystopic totalitarian society. Lastly, in 1963's "Printer's Devil", Meredith portrayed the Devil himself.