Michael Marino: Last News

Matt Reeves never meant for Colin Farrell to look unrecognizable in “The Batman.”In the finished film, Farrell’s appearance is utterly obliterated in the role of Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, the scarred and dumpy mid-level Gotham City gangster with the (unwelcome) nickname of “the Penguin.” But when the 55-year-old director — who co-wrote “The Batman” with Peter Craig — first approached Farrell for the role, he was focused on Farrell’s ability to bring grit and sensitivity in the same performance.“He could have that mix of being incredibly, incredibly scary and volatile, and then all of a sudden, you’d see this vulnerable side that really made you feel for that guy,” Reeves tells Variety. “So I really wanted him to play the character.” When they met, however, Reeves noticed that Farrell had recently gained weight for a different movie, which fit into his conception of the longstanding Batman villain as a mobster akin to John Cazale’s Fredo in “The Godfather” films.“I thought John Cazale has a kind of Penguin nose,” Reeves says.

Not to diminish his Golden Globe win for playing a disfigured man who undergoes facial reconstruction surgery in A Different Man, but for Sebastian Stan the hardest role to play in his career was “the man in orange” aka Donald Trump in this year’s The Apprentice.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses plot points from the series premiere of “The Penguin,” now streaming on Max. The climax of the premiere episode of HBO’s “The Penguin” sees Colin Farrell‘s Oz Cobb being stripped nude and tortured by Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone. Falcone does this because she rightfully suspects Oz is responsible for the murder of Alberto Falcone, who’s her brother — and the son of notorious crime boss Carmine Falcone, who was killed by Paul Dano’s Riddler in Matt Reeves’ 2022 film, “The Batman.” The scene is squirm-inducing and chilling, made all the more grotesque by the fact that Oz is bare and exposed.

Colin Farrell is definitely up for a sequel to . While on the red carpet for the premiere of at the famed Westwood Village Theater in Los Angeles, Farrell damn near jumped out of his shoes when ET's Will Marfuggi asked him if he'd be in for the sequel should director Matt Reeves give him a ring.«Oh my god, you kidding me?!» Farrell asked rhetorically. «It's so much fun, are you joking [with] me? I've been around the block man. That was an easy sport, I mean… it was a joy.»So far, there's no official word a sequel to the superhero film starring Farrell, Robert Pattinson, Paul Dano and Zoë Kravitz is happening, but Farrell can certainly envision it happening.«Matt's up to his bollocks, you know, hovering over the keyboard and just planning the story because he's just so meticulous,» Farrell says.

Paul Dano’s Riddler is ’s main villain in director Matt Reeves’ stunning take on the superhero, it’s Colin Farrell who steals the show as the Penguin. The 45-year-old actor, who is completely unrecognizable as the formidable crime figure, makes use of every second he’s on screen, bringing the laughs and gravitas to the three-hour epic about a serial killer who threatens to upend the status quo of Gotham with shocking revelations about who actually runs the city.