8 Dream TV Castings That Came True
4. Alexander Siddig As Ra’s Al Ghul - Gotham
Batman is, without a doubt, the comic-book character with the most recognisable villains. Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Mr Freeze… this list goes on.
Ra’s Al Ghul, despite being a cornerstone of the Batman comics, has never had too many live-action appearances. Notably, Liam Neeson portrayed him in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, which was fine, if a little odd. The name Ra’s Al Ghul is Arabic in origin, literally translating to the Head of the Ghoul, so fans began to consider actors more appropriate for the casting.
The most popular of these was Alexander Siddig, best known for his time portraying the softly spoken Dr Bashir in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Just after fellow DC show Arrow introduced its own interpretation played by Matthew Nable, Siddig was announced to be coming to Fox’s Gotham, a show that takes a look into the younger years of Bruce Wayne.
In the show, Ra's Al Ghul is an ambiguous character who is instrumental in shaping the destiny of the future Batman. Siddig’s performance as the character was so good, that DC fans moved from fan casting his appearance to fan casting his return, hopeful that he may cross over into the Arrowverse, or even into the feature films somewhere down the line.