Sean Pertwee on Alfred's Resurrection, Loyalty to Bruce Wayne, and Backstory To Come (Interview)

Sean Pertwee went through his most visceral arc yet on "Gotham" when Alfred sacrificed himself to save Bruce Wayne, though Bruce resurrected him using water from the Lazarus Pit. "It was a very big haul, actually. Initially, when you read it you think, 'Would someone really do that?' It begs so many questions, doesn't it? What is this insane loyalty that he has to this boy? What is the insane loyalty to this mashido-like oath that he has with Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne? Why would he do this? He's never been able to love.

I've just found out what's going on in this season by my show-runner and it's very exciting. You find out there's not been a lot of love in Alfred's up-bringing. To be given the chance, and the propensity to be able to love, means that much to him that he would give his life, which I think is rather beautiful and I have to say, without blowing my trumpet, but David Mazouz who unfortunately is not here, I thought that was an Emmy-worthy performance. What you didn't see was cut short because they consolidated two shows into one was that they were gonna do a sort of montage sequence of our whole entire relationship over the last three years and what Alfred actually does mean to him as he plunges his sword through him. After he does it, he has this sort of flashback and it does actually bring him back. I found it was extraordinary being three inches away from the young man's face, him going through that, we did it in sixteen takes. It was just incredible. It was actually very emotional and very moving. I thought it believable that he would give himself for that love, for that boy to bring him back.

When we start season four, it's six months later. They are on the vigilante path which is interesting so we start to hit the stride which people were expecting us to be at day one, which is bizarre. Alfred and Bruce's relationship, people were horrified originally about our relationship. But now you start to see the relationship that flowers into the one where they're stitching each other up, where they've got each other's back, and they start to work. But of course, with any relationship, you need to fall apart to get stronger so that also happens."

Watch our full interview with Sean Pertwee here: