Since his debut as iconic Batman super-villain Oswald Cobblepot on Gotham, out actor Robin Lord Taylor has been the breakout star of the Fox series, with his version of Penguin deeper and more complicated than we've seen in the DC universe.

Taylor says his nuanced portrayal is helped with decades of knowledge about the character, telling Fuse, "With The Penguin specifically, we're very fortunate in that we have about 70 years of mythology to draw upon and do research with and that's what I did when I got the role of The Penguin. That's when I learned he was bullied as a child, he was always treated as an outsider."

It was that understanding of the history of the character that allowed Taylor to find a connection, saying "That was my human link to the character. I learned that and I was like, 'This is something I want to show and root him down to reality.'"

"Growing up overweight and gay in small-town Iowa as a kid in the 80s and 90s, it was much different than it is now, and I know exactly what that feels like."

Watch his interview below.

Gotham airs Mondays at 8 PM on Fox.