The CW’s Gotham Knights have now been named by the citizens of Gotham City in the CW television series of the same name. The show – which airs Tuesday nights after Superman & Lois – boasts a diverse cast of young characters who navigate the famous DC Comics town at a time after Batman has been murdered.
The show’s seventh episode airs tonight (May 2), which means we are passing the midpoint of the first season as things are heating up with the Court of Owls and the danger is growing exponentially. To promote the episode, KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne was able to speak with actor Tyler DiChiara who plays Cullen Row on the show, and we discussed his character, LGBTQ+ representation, and of course, convention-going with Misha Collins while we were at it, as well as some playful roasting of a character’s name. Enjoy the interview below.
KSITETV’S CRAIG BYRNE: What is your favorite thing about Cullen as a character?
TYLER DiCHIARA: I love the fact that Cullen is still stepping into his spotlight, if you will. I don’t think Harper ever gave him the chance to spread his wings and be that badass little guy that we see doing all this [with the] undercover and fighting lifestyle. She’s always just protected him, so I just think I love seeing Cullen finally get to embrace himself for who he is. And especially living in Gotham, he’s always looked up to Batman in a way, so the fact that he’s now this close to Robin and his son, and now doing all this stuff with clearing his name and now getting called the Gotham Knights, I think he has found himself in a way that he didn’t realize he was gonna find himself.
When Cullen went undercover as Officer Row, he kind of had Batman’s disguise aspect down. Would you say that all of the Knights combined could possibly make a Batman?
Oh, my gosh. I think individually, we can each be our own superheroes that would make Batman very proud. I think all together, yeah, we would be one big Batman, sure. But individually, we each bring such a uniqueness and level of intensity to this team, and where we go is that we just keep rising in this show, and we keep showing everybody that “maybe these kids could have been capable of killing Batman.” Especially like when you think back to like Jason Todd, and Dick Grayson, all these Robins back in the comic books and all these shows, they started off 14, 15 years old, just like Robin in our show. These kids can pack a punch. So it’s like, I think Batman would be very, very proud of us… not just Turner, but this team that he has brought together to protect Gotham now. And we weren’t even trying to protect Gotham! We just got the opportunity to do so, when we were trying to clear our names…. we just had a knack for doing it.
How old are Cullen and Harper supposed to be?
Cullen and Harper are about 18.
How did they meet up with Duela?
Cullen and Harper, we ran away from our abusive father… and Fallon Smythe and I as actors, we kind of came together and collectively we thought [that our characters] were living on the streets for like two years, which gives us a lot of street knowledge, and a lot of fight knowledge and you know, so when diving into the pilot, you can understand how they’re so good at doing what they do. For meeting Duela, we were just in a soup kitchen, trying to get some food, doing the thing… and Duela just came in and saw us sitting there ,and thought that we could help her in this heist because she needed more people. Row and Harper have done so many jobs for rich people in the past by stealing things and doing all this other crazy stuff. This, to us ,was a walk in the park, but then it ended up being a way, way bigger park.
Do any of you have trouble saying the name “Dylan McKillen” without laughing?
Of course. I mean… Dylan McKillen? Come on now. You think we’re gonna be scared of you with that last name? I don’t care if you do have a gun pointing at my face. Your last name is McKillen. I’m so sorry, buddy.
How important is it to you that Gotham Knights has a team of LGBTQ+ writers and producers who can write characters like Cullen with such respect and thoughtfulness?
It’s amazing. I mean, you know, years ago when I was growing up, I would never have seen such inclusivty on the screen and just all this acceptedness, because we’re everywhere. LGBTQ people are here. We’re not going anywhere. So the fact that we have writers now who can tell stories… and they’ve come to me a lot of times to ask me if they what they’re saying for Cullen is right… I don’t think a lot of writers would do that. It’s a blessing to be a part of this moment in industry history – because we’re still growing with the inclusivity, and just the industry is changing every day. If I had never seen Laverne Cox in Orange is the New Black, I would never have gotten the strength to say, “oh, my gosh. If she can do it, I can do it!” Just being able to see yourself on screen…. it’s just a blessing. And these writers, Natalie, Chad, James, Devon… there are so many writers… they are just so, so thoughtful in their writing process and how they go about things. There’s actually another transmasculine writer on the team – his name’s Nate [Gualtieri]. He was amazing. He wrote “A Chill in Gotham.” and he gave me such a beautiful moment.
All of the writers just make Cullen just a normal everyday kid who just so happens to be trans. It’s the last thing that we talk about. It is talked about, but it’s not the main topic of conversation, because you know, it is just a normal thing to possibly be trans, or be friends with a trans person. Right now, we’re just focused on clearing our names and all of that stuff, but I just love how they organically tell Cullen’s story. It’s beautiful. I’m so grateful to be a part of this team and to have these writers just be there and be who they are.
Well, speaking of being accepted and welcomed with open arms, can you talk about what it was like to go to a convention with Misha Collins?
It was crazy. Because it very last minute. I was asleep, and then he calls me, and he’s like, “hey, there’s a convention going on in an hour. And I completely forgot that you’re in Atlanta. Do you want to come with me?” I’m like, “yes, yes, I do.”
That was the quickest 10 minutes I’ve ever gotten ready in my life. It was so fun. I love how devoted the Supernatural fans are to Misha, Jensen, Jared, and the whole Supernatural gang. I know, originally, these fans came to watch Misha [in Gotham Knights], but they ended up falling in love with the whole cast. I couldn’t thank them more for allowing us into their family. Because not only is the story great, but they got a chance to now see Misha in a whole new light.
When we showed the pilot, the reaction was just so much better than I could have ever hoped for. Everyone was laughing when they should have laughed. They were gasping when it was getting intense. It was just so fun, and it just made me excited for future conventions, especially since I just got a convention agent. I’m going to soon be going and meeting fans. I’ve been tweeting, and I’d never used Twitter, but I’ve been talking to fans so much, and it’s so much fun. They are just the sweetest of souls, and I can’t wait to meet them. That first convention just made me want to go to more.
Will you be announcing your convention appearances on social media?
Yes, I am not going to any soon, but eventually, yes. Right now, I’m in the process of moving to a new apartment in Atlanta. but after that’s all done, I’m gonna figure out with my agent where I can go first.
I’m going to ask you the shipper question: Who do you ship Cullen with?
I mean, he’s such a sweet boy. Right? I don’t know. But he’s also so gay! And I don’t think Turner is his type! I genuinely don’t ship him with any of the Knights because I don’t think he’ll sh!t where he eats, you know, that kind of situation.
I think for right now, Cullen is just so eager to clear his name. I feel like his love interest will come eventually, where he saves him from some crisis, and they fall in love… that’s my epic Cullen ship story, because I really can’t ship anything to him with anyone here, because there’s only one dude.
So you’re not hoping that there’s another McKillen sibling?
Oh, I’m okay. With that last name… I’m good! You know, I don’t judge. If I were to date a mobster, I just wouldn’t take his last name if we ended up getting married. That’s how it would be, that would be the argument.
So no Cullen McKillen?
Nope. Not happening. I like Row. Row is way better. Sweet and to the point.
If you could have played any other character in Gotham Knights who would you have wanted it to be?
I would have loved to have taken a crack at the Joker’s Son. I would have loved to have gender bended Duela a bit. I know that’s obviously not the comics, but her character is so wild, and crazy, and loose, and she can really just have fun with it.
Harper and Cullen had a rough childhood, but to be the Joker’s daughter… it’s like, “okay, maybe you got a leg up on us. I don’t know; I just would have loved to see a gender-bent Duela, as the Joker’s son… I would have loved to have given that a shot.
If Cullen could meet any of the other DC heroes of TV or movies, who would you want him to meet?
Oh, Christian Bale’s Batman! Somehow if Cullen had a time machine [and could travel the] multiverse, and even to see Heath Ledger’s Joker… like, oh my gosh, those men created my love for the Batman universe when I first saw The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight holds a special place in my heart. Heath Ledger will always go down in history as my favorite Joker. He terrified me as a child. I was like “okay, I’m sleeping with the lights on.”
In terms of the TV shows, I would love to meet Nightwing in Titans. Cullen definitely has that aspiration to be a Robin or some sort of sidekick kind of character. Especially in the in the pilot, I wanted him to look at Robin and be like, “wow, I want to do what you do. That is sick. I want to kick a cop’s butt and get away with it.” He always had that dream of being a sidekick just like Robin, so if he could talk to Nightwing and Robin, that’d be great.
What can you tease about tonight’s episode “Bad To Be Good,” and do you wish you got to work with the Eunice Harmon character?
Oh my gosh. I really do wish to work with her. She is amazing. She’s just so freaky… I was walking around the set when she was working and whatnot, so I only got to hear her… I didn’t get to see what she was performing. When I finally got to see her in “Butchers and Betrayals,” she just gave me chills down my spine.
Tonight’s episode is so action packed. I just love how each episode just keeps getting better and better. The Knights just have another task; kind of like a side quest in finding the Court. They’re really, really close, sI’m really excited for these next couple of episodes. because as we near the end, we start to unravel everything. Tonight’s gonna be a big night of unraveling more Court nonsense. We’re going to maybe get into a little bit of a shootout. Who knows. Things are gonna happen tonight. It’s going to be one of those episodes that definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat.
See photos from Gotham Knights “Bad To Be Good” here. The episode airs at 9PM ET/PT Tuesday, May 2 on The CW; a trailer can be found below.
