Colin Farrell is getting positive reviews for revisiting the villainous role of Oz Cobb, aka Penguin from The Batman World, to explore his origin story, which comes with strokes of grey. The actor admits that he was nervous to do the villain origin story as it attempts to reinvent a character which already has a huge legacy. Also read: HBO’s The Penguin full release schedule: Check out when new episodes air
On working on the series
In an exclusive press conference with select media, which Hindustan Times was a part of, Colin talked about working on the series The Penguin, which streams on JioCinema Premium in India, and getting the look.
“As a working actor for over 25 years. I’ve been to some parts of the world, I’ve been in extraordinary situations, like mad adventures… Burbank (shoot location of The Penguin) wasn’t the most exotic destination I’d ever been to, but it was one of the most magical days I have ever had as an actor,” he said in an exclusive press conference with select media, which Hindustan Times was a part of.
The actor continued, “The word ‘divine’ is not misplaced because it was a bunch of artists getting together and everyone feeling nervous, everyone feeling under mad pressure, everyone knowing that it was this film, The Batman, that was going to be made and we were trying to reinvent and re-energise this character that had been honoured through decades of comic book lore, film iterations, TV iterations. And everyone was s******g themselves and it was just one bit and another bit and then the bodysuit went on and another, the hair and then the this and then the that.”
Things changed when he saw himself in the mirror in the whole look. There was no looking back since then.
On getting into the character
The actor is getting rave reviews for the way he has gotten into the character with makeup and prosthetics. The actor disappears under a mound of prosthetics that create his pockmarked skin, sagging chin and crooked nose, not to forget his fat suit. On a candid note, he revealed he was always the last one to leave the set.
“The first makeup test we did, which was some years ago now, before the Batman film…I walked into the soundstage in the middle of sunlight and I walked out at, like eight or nine o’clock that evening and the day was finished… There was costume, there was the people who were designing the bodysuit. There was art who did the teeth and there was somebody who was doing the hair and it was just extraordinary to see this village of people come together to bring this character to life,” he said.
The Cassandra’s Dream actor admitted, “It was the first time ever at work, as an actor, that I got in before the crew and I left after the crew. Usually, actors have such an easy time. We get in after everyone, we leave before everyone, and we’re overpaid. But I was in before- we were in before everyone, we’d start at half four, five o’clock in the morning, and, uh, and we’d be leaving at nine or 10 o’clock at night”.
That’s why he wants to take a little ownership of the character as Collin puts, “it always takes a village to bring a character to life”.
“For 25 years as an actor, I have leaned into and been the beneficiary of incredibly detailed work from makeup departments and makeup artists. Incredible work from costume and wardrobe designers. They play such a part in creating characters for you, regardless of what the story is,” mentioned the Golden Globe award-winning star.
On the makeup process
It is often easy to get lost while hiding under multiple layers of makeup. But that was not the case for Colin.
“I recognise myself in the way that I remember the day, I remember the scene, I remember the feelings, I remember that kind of thing…I have that kind of context and reference points just through memory and it’s all the time spent shooting this bringing it to life with the great crew we had and the incredible cast, it’s still very vivid in my memory,” asserted the 48-year-old.
Wrapping up, he shared, “It was an absolute freedom to be able to be buried beneath all this stuff and just have carte blanche behaviorally to explore this character.”
About the show
In the series, Colin Farrell reprises his role in Matt Reeves’ The Batman film. He is seen playing Gotham City gangster Oswald “Oz” Cobb. The series picks up in the days after the events of The Batman, with Oz seeking to seize control of the Gotham underworld in the power vacuum created by the death of his former boss, Carmine Falcone. The villain origin story went live in September and is garnering a positive response.