Penguin rising

The streets of Gotham City have never been more dangerous, treacherous and alive with ambition than in The Penguin, HBO’s latest miniseries which premiered on Sept 20.
Over eight gripping episodes, the series promises to give a raw, unfiltered view into the life of one of Batman’s most iconic and complex adversaries, Oswald “Oz” Cobb, aka The Penguin, played by Colin Farrell in a transformative and critically lauded performance.
Set just one week after the events of The Batman (2022), this limited series delves deep into Gotham’s criminal underworld, offering a fresh perspective on a character who’s long been an enigmatic figure on the fringes of Gotham’s lore.
For Colin Farrell, returning to the role of Oz after The Batman was an exciting opportunity to expand on a character he felt hadn’t been fully realised in the film.
“I had only five or six scenes, so I didn’t really get to know the character that much. But in the show, I knew there was an opportunity,” Farrell said during a recent Zoom interview with Life, reflecting on the transition from the film to the series.
And it’s that very opportunity that sets The Penguin apart from previous portrayals of the character. Here, audiences aren’t just witnessing a criminal mastermind; they’re exploring the psyche of a man deeply wounded by his past, desperate for power, love and a sense of belonging.
Farrell’s performance in The Batman earned him widespread praise, but his role was relatively brief — enough to tease at the potential of the character but not enough to fully explore his depths. In The Penguin, that potential is fully realised.
“Oz is somebody that is kind of a bit of a contradiction,” Farrell said. “He has a very aggressive sense of belief in himself, but at the same time, he’s extraordinarily vulnerable. He’s looking for love in life, looking for a sense of home.”
It’s this duality — his brutal ambition tempered by an underlying sadness — that drives the series forward and keeps audiences guessing at every turn.
The power vacuum left by Carmine Falcone’s death at the end of The Batman provides the perfect setting for The Penguin’s central narrative: Oz’s rise to power in a Gotham City that’s drowning — both literally and figuratively — in chaos. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic Gotham, flooded and left in disarray after the catastrophic events of The Batman, and this grim backdrop mirrors the internal and external struggles of its characters.
“It made for a very tricky, very dark story,” Farrell noted, adding that Oz would face “extraordinary obstacles” in his quest for control. The comparison to iconic crime film Scarface (1983) has been floated more than once by the show’s creative team, and it’s easy to see why. Like Tony Montana, Oz is a man driven by an insatiable hunger for power and respect — though his methods are often more calculated than explosive.
The psychological depth of the character is perhaps best exemplified in Oz’s relationship with his mother, Francis Cobb, played by Deirdre O’Connell. Suffering from early-onset dementia, Francis serves as both a tether and a burden for Oz, revealing a more vulnerable side to the ruthless crime boss.
“There was really an opportunity to get into the psychology of the character, particularly with Oz’s mum,” Farrell said. This relationship forms the emotional core of the series, offering viewers a glimpse into the childhood traumas that shaped Oz into the man he is today — a man who craves control but is also haunted by the fragility of the one person he truly loves.
Adding to the complexity of Oz’s character is his relationship with Sofia Falcone, played by Cristin Milioti. Sofia, the psychopathic daughter of Carmine Falcone, is not just a foil to Oz but also a reflection of his darkest tendencies. Having been recently released from Arkham Asylum, Sofia is as much a contender for Gotham’s criminal throne as Oz, and their power struggle forms a key narrative thread throughout the series.
Farrell alluded to the rawness of their dynamic, noting that “the relationship with Sofia is where he’s at his most honest, where he’s at his most relentless”.
Yet Oz is not just defined by his relationships with others; much of his allure comes from his physicality and the world-weary visage that makes him both terrifying and tragic. For this, the series enlisted the help of prosthetic make-up designer Mike Marino, whose work on The Batman was already being hailed as transformative. Marino, a lifelong fan of the Penguin character, took a decidedly different approach for the HBO series.
“The Penguin we’ve seen over the years, like Burgess Meredith’s interpretation… was very comic camp,” Marino explained. But in Matt Reeves’ more grounded, realistic Gotham, such a caricature wouldn’t fit. “I thought, how do we do something different? Something that stands out and fits within Matt Reeves’ world?” Marino’s solution was to draw inspiration from 1960s gangsters, creating a look that was gritty, intimidating, and above all, believable.
From the slanted 45-degree eyebrow shape that gives Oz his unsettling stare to the carefully crafted body suit that alters Farrell’s frame, every aspect of the make-up was designed to make Oz as imposing as possible.
“When you’re around this character, you’re uneasy with his face, his appearance, his size,” Marino said, and that unease is palpable on screen. But the make-up is only part of the equation. As Marino pointed out: “It takes someone as great as Colin to add a character, add a voice.”
The result is a performance that blurs the line between actor and character, with Farrell disappearing entirely behind the prosthetics. “I recognise myself… but I also have more objectivity than I’ve ever been afforded as an actor,” he said.
The physical transformation, which Marino describes as a “magic trick”, was a labour-intensive process that took hours to complete. “The first day was five hours, and then by week three, we were down to three hours,” Farrell recalled, describing the collaborative effort of the make-up team, costume designers, and hair stylists who worked tirelessly to bring Oz to life.
Marino, too, emphasised the importance of realism in his designs, noting that “Matt Reeves’ world is very unique… everything has to be believable. It’s not just a bird person with a huge beak”.
But make-up alone cannot create the character; it’s Farrell’s physical performance that breathes life into Oz. From the raspier voice to the distinct limp, every aspect of Oz’s physicality was carefully crafted by Farrell in collaboration with the make-up.
“The make-up really spoke to me… when I put the make-up on, it confirmed as the right road,” Farrell said. This attention to detail extends to the series’ action sequences, where Oz’s physical limitations — his limp, his bulk — are integrated into his fighting style and interactions, making him not just a cerebral villain but one whose body carries the scars of his past.
In many ways, The Penguin is a character study wrapped in the trappings of a crime drama. It’s as much about Gotham as it is about Oz, and the series uses its supporting cast to flesh out the world around him. Rhenzy Feliz plays Victor Aguilar, a homeless teenager who becomes Oz’s driver and enforcer, adding a layer of complexity to Oz’s character as he mentors the young man in the ways of the criminal underworld. Clancy Brown portrays Salvatore Maroni, another crime boss vying for power in the wake of Falcone’s death, while Michael Kelly plays Johnny Viti, a loyal lieutenant to Oz.
The writing of the series, led by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, has been lauded for its ability to balance action with deep, emotional storytelling. Farrell was particularly impressed with LeFranc’s vision for the character and the series as a whole.
“She took me through the relationship with the backstory, what happened to him as a child… it’s so vast, and yet so personal,” Farrell said. It’s this personal touch that sets The Penguin apart from other entries in the DC Universe. While there’s plenty of action and intrigue, at its core, the series is about one man’s struggle to find his place in a world that has continually beaten him down.
As the series unfolds, viewers can expect to see Oz face a myriad of challenges, both external and internal. His ambition will push him to the brink, but it’s his humanity — his vulnerability — that will ultimately make him one of Gotham’s most unforgettable villains.
“It’s really dark and heavy,” Farrell admitted, warning viewers to prepare for a story that doesn’t shy away from the grittier aspects of Gotham’s underworld.