Gotham Scoop: Mr. Freeze to Be Played by House of Cards‘ Nathan Darrow

Kevin Spacey’s House of Cards bodyguard is bringing the Big Chill to Gotham this winter.

Nathan Darrow — best known as the longtime bodyguard (and occasional lover) of Spacey’s Frank Underwood — has landed the pivotal, iconic, repugnant (and recurring!) role of Victor Fries (AKA Mr. Freeze) on Fox‘s Batman prequel saga, TVLine has learned.

As Gotham EP John Stephens told TVLine, “The first time we see Freeze is in [the Nov. 30 episode], and then we’re going to be telling a heavy Freeze story in Episodes 12 and 13.”

Here’s the official character description: “Though ferociously smart and eminently capable in his work as one of Gotham’s preeminent cryogenics engineers, Victor struggles to make meaningful connections with others. The one exception is his wife, Nora (casting TBA), who has tragically fallen ill with a terminal disease. Victor’s love for Nora knows no bounds, so as her condition worsens, he goes to extreme measures to figure out a way to freeze her before she dies. This harrowing journey leads to his transformation into the legendary DC villain, Mr. Freeze.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger (in?)famously played the Big Bad in 1997’s Batman & Robin.

Darrow was recently cast as Andrew Madoff in HBO’s Robert De Niro-Michelle Pfeiffer telepic Wizard of Lies. He also has a recurring role in Showtime’s upcoming Paul Giamatti/Damian Lewis starrer Billions.