Acting legend Colin Farrell reveals all about his new series ‘The Penguin’
It’s the Batman spin-off that’s been labelled as a ‘slick revelation’ that will leave you 'breathless’. As Hollywood’s Colin Farrell transforms into seedy gangster Oz Cobb (aka 'The Penguin'), he joins us to talk about the new series - including how his prosthetics fooled his co-stars and which fellow star he got advice from ahead of taking on the role.
Starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka 'The Penguin'), the eight-episode DC Studios series continues filmmaker Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” epic crime saga that began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster “The Batman.”
“One of the priorities of the whole thing [was that] it should be able to work if you didn't know any of the mythology." said Farrell. "If you didn't have any kind of fan reference for the world that it's born of, it should be able to exist, just in and of itself, as a story that's strong and that pays enough attention to the minutia of human psychology and childhood trauma and ambition and greed and sorrow and loss, and all of those things that we all contend with in our own ways. It should stand alone.”
When asked what the role means to him, Farrell said, "It was one of those gifts that you don't see coming." Playing 'The Penguin' required Farrell to act with prosthetics, which he said resulted in 14 hour days!
“It's incredibly liberating. There's a power to it. You feel protected." said Farrell, about working with the prosethics. "I could be having a really bad day, and nobody would know. It was basically mask work. I would find it hard, I think, to even give myself permission to be as vulnerable and decrepit and narcissistic and psychopathic, if I didn't have the bells and whistles of being completely hidden behind this mask. I felt very liberated."
The first and second episodes of The Penguin are already available to watch on Sky and streaming service NOW, with new episodes out every Monday.