Colin Farrell has found plenty of success in Hollywood but his latest role in The Batman, taking on the part of iconic villain, The Penguin was a sensational hit.
His performance received rave reviews from critics, and fans. Being so popular, Colin is now set to star in a spin-off series following the iconic character.
But critics and viewers weren’t the only ones expressing their opinions, as the original Penguin, Danny DeVito shared his feelings about the Dubliner’s portrayal of the character. Danny played the iconic villain in Tim Burton’s1992 Batman Returns, and was happy to pass the role on to Colin, but still thought his character was better.
Telling Vanity Fair: “I love Colin. He’s a terrific guy. My Penguin was better.”
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Danny was in the middle of a lie detector test when he was questioned about his opinion, and then asked the polygraph examiner: “Was that the truth? It most certainly was. In my opinion.”
Danny and Colin’s character were very different, with Danny’s following a very close interpretation of the character from the comic books.
Whereas Colin’s The Penguin was inspired by the criminal underworld, serving more as a mobster. However, one thing their portrayals shared was an intense physical transformation.
For his role, the Phone Booth star required a complete makeover to transform into The Penguin, which included major facial prosthetics something that required hours and a team of people to complete.
As Colin explained to Collider, “the first day we tried the whole thing out, we took it for a drive, a spin metaphorically speaking. We did it in Burbank. It took about six or eight hours. It was a team of ten or fifteen people.”
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Colin even pulled a little stunt while decked out as a supervillain. Deciding to grab a coffee, in his Penguin look. Explaining, “It was really fun. I went into Starbucks and ordered myself a very un-Oswald drink, an oat milk latte with two stevia sweeteners.”
While most people would find it quite shocking to see The Penguin ordering a latte, this particular crowd didn’t seem all that excited. As Colin explained, “I got a couple of stares but only because it’s such an imposing look.”
For his portrayal of The Penguin, the actor had one wish, hoping to smoke Ozwald’s iconic cigar. With the prop being featured in the original comics and the 1992 film Batman Returns. But despite his efforts, this modern rendition of The Penguin was smoke-free.
As Colin revealed to Jake’s Takes, “I fought valiantly for a cigar, I even said at one stage, ‘Can I have it unlit,’ and they were like no.”
