Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot/the Penguin in The Batman has been garnering praise from critics, who have labeled his performance as one of the best in the film in their early reviews. Previous adaptations have struggled with the sillier elements of this character, though Matt Reeves’ interpretation imagines him as one of the most dangerous and unhinged criminals in Gotham City.
The Batman‘s Penguin is also assisted by some seriously impressive prosthetics used to transform the dashing Farrell into a grotesque villain just on the right side of realistic. Now, while struggling with the heat during his appearance on ‘Hot Ones’, he talked about how the role wasn’t what he initially assumed:
“For me, it was absolute liberation. I thought that it would be very limiting. I really did, I thought I’d be just oppressed by this – and it was totally the opposite. When the piece moves as well as the piece that was designed for the Penguin moved, my eyebrows moved to my cheeks and my smile, it was f*cking insane. I didn’t have any fear that Colin could be seen through.”
Farrell does a great job dealing with ‘the wings of death’ during the episode and though his pitcher of milk is emptied as the show ends he remains charismatic, lucid, and interestingly introspective throughout the interview.
The Batman won’t be the last time we see Farrell in Gotham City. A spinoff series will land on HBO Max sometime in the next few years showing the Penguin’s rise through the criminal underworld. Interestingly, this was first pitched as a possible plot for The Batman 2, though Reeves eventually concluded it made more sense as a longer episodic story.
In an interview with MovieWeb, Reeves said:
‘To be honest with you, the thing that was going to be the seeds of what I thought the next story could be in terms of the Penguin is that I saw there being this kind of ‘American dream in Gotham’ sort of story, almost like Scarface; the rise of this character who we all know will achieve mythic status.’”
While Farrell’s Penguin has succeeded in becoming a favorite of critics, it remains to be seen whether he will manage to have a similar effect on viewers as they finally see the long-awaited The Batman, which hits theaters today.