If it hadn’t been announced beforehand that Colin Farrell was playing Penguin in The Batman, most filmgoers would have had no idea it was him in the role of Oswald Cobblepot. In the film, Farrell looks completely unrecognizable as the Gotham City supervillain thanks to hours spent each day in the makeup chair. The character is a bit of a scene-stealer despite his limited screen time, and many fans feel that the look conceived for Penguin in this film is perfect.
Making Farrell look this way was not the original plan, however. Speaking about Farrell’s casting in a new interview with Variety, director Matt Reeves shared the full story behind the actor’s Penguin look. It was Farrell’s acting ability that got Reeves’ attention, but when they met to discuss the film, Reeves observed that Farrell had recently gained weight for a separate film role. This got to thinking about what else they could do for Farrell’s appearance in The Batman, thinking upon John Cazale’s Fredo in The Godfather for inspiration, as well as Sydney Greenstreet and Bob Hoskins.
Reeves enlisted prosthetic makeup artist Michael Marino (Coming 2 America) to design Penguin’s look. Farrell then told Reeves that he wasn’t comfortable keeping the weight on for the film and would be losing it, so that was also relayed to Marino to be factored into the plans. Marino got to work, and one day on the set, he surprised Reeves with a sculpture of a head resembling Penguin’s appearance in the movie. Because Reeves was trying to keep the film grounded in reality, he was initially concerned that the makeup presented would be too much.
Reeves was apprehensive, but he knew that the plan was a go once Farrell saw the sculpture and became “really excited” about the design. Once he had the look in mind, Farrell also didn’t waste any time in figuring out the voice he’d be using to match it, convincing Reeves to move forward with the makeover.
Matt Reeves Had Gotten Used to Colin Farrell Looking Like Penguin
Warner Bros.
Because of the tumultuous production and COVID safety protocols, Matt Reeves had never actually seen Colin Farrell on the set without his Penguin makeup. As it looked so convincing, it had basically gotten Reeves used Farrell looking this certain way. Once the shoot was over and Farrell was back to looking far unlike Penguin, Reeves almost felt like he’d lost a friend.
At least Reeves will get to see the Farrell he knows when the actor gets transformed back into Penguin for an upcoming spinoff series at HBO Max. The Batman is now playing in movie theaters everywhere where you can see him on the big screen.
