DAREDEVIL's Vincent D'Onofrio Discusses The Kingpin

The Kingpin has arrived in Hell's Kitchen.

USA Today has provided the first look at Vincent D'Onofrio as The Kingpin/Wilson Fisk on the upcoming Netflix series Daredevil, as well as some new details on what Daredevil fans might expect in this depiction of the Marvel Comics character.

The article describes Fisk as "a New York-born gangster whose methods of cleaning up his city differ greatly" from Daredevil's and the 13-episode series will be the Kingpin's origin story as well as The Man Without Fear's.  In addition, the article states that "The underworld won't even speak Fisk's name because of the power he holds, though at first glance he comes off as insecure, especially when he meets the comely art dealer Vanessa Marianna (Ayelet Zurer).  But when folks cross or disrespect him, the results often are very bloody."

"I just brought in this kind of character who in one sentence could easily go from being a child to a monster," said D'Onofrio, "depending on where his emotions take him."

Showing his dedication to the role, D'Onofrio reportedly added about thirty pounds to his 250-pound, 6-foot-3 frame.  "I wanted him to have an appearance of being super-powerful so that when he throws a punch, it's a major punch," remarked D'Onofrio.  "There's a lot of weight behind it."

Daredevil executive producer Steven DeKnight commented on the decision to cast D'Onofrio as The Kingpin.  "He had a passion and an understanding of what we were trying to do, of making it a very grounded, gritty, realistic show," said DeKnight.  "Here is an actor who's really thinking about it on not only a character depth but a visual depth that I really loved."

Created by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. in 1967's The Amazing Spider-Man #50, The Kingpin was introduced as a crime boss adversary of Spider-Man but eventually became the arch-enemy of Daredevil. Over the years, he has used a number of assassins, including Elektra and Bullseye, in various attempts to kill Daredevil, and his son Richard Fisk became the crime lord known as The Rose.

Daredevil will debut all thirteen episodes on Netflix starting April 10, 2015.