Colin Farrell is ready for season 2 of “The Penguin” after the finale.

[This story contains spoilers from The Penguin season finale.]

Reports that Colin Farrell is done with it The penguin were greatly exaggerated.

The Irish actor made a comment a few months ago that sounded like he was tired of playing the Batman villain and the grueling daily ritual of three hours in the makeup chair. (“I never want to wear that damn suit and that damn head again,” he said Total film.) But that was before the acclaimed crime drama premiered and garnered widespread admiration from fans, with strong ratings for HBO rising week after week (and also garnering plenty of accolades for Farrell and his castmates).

“If there’s a great idea [for season two]“And the writing was really muscular and as strong or stronger on the page than in the first season, of course I would,” Farrell says The Hollywood Reporter.

It was the reaction of fans that helped develop his mindset, says the actor.

“For me, the bar for success is not very high. It’s, “Do most people like it?” – just the simplicity of it. I love being in things that are critically acclaimed – it’s much better than the alternative – but I’ve been at it long enough [to know] that the audience really is the most important critic.”

In eight episodes The penguin chronicled underworld boss Oz Cobb’s brutal rise to power. The show was originally conceived as a limited series that would simply serve as a bridge to creator Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman with its upcoming sequel in 2026 The Batman Part II. But its massive success has led to Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc in talks with HBO to continue the project. (You wouldn’t be the first to follow this latest storyline: HBO’s The White Lotus and FX’s Shogun both transitioned from limited runs to ongoing shows after gaining traction with audiences.)

But for Farrell, a return to Gotham City would still come at a cost. It’s not just about the elaborate make-up, but also about the transformation into an obese gangster with a New York accent and a pitch-black mental state. To bring about this change, the actor took a somewhat methodical approach, remaining in character throughout his time on set. As well penguin Fans on social media have said they forget about Farrell when Cobb is on screen. Some of his co-stars said they had barely met the real Farrell – he even wore a ski mask when he wasn’t wearing makeup to hide his face.

“Colin is a really beautiful, sensitive person,” says Reeves THR. “And living in that darkness and then putting on all that latex day after day, I know that as much as he loved the role, it was also a kind of hell for him. ”

THR spoke via Zoom with Farrell in his hotel room in Dublin (where he had just shown how different he is from the Batman villain in real life – running a marathon in four hours and pushing his girlfriend with a rare skin condition in a wheelchair during the finale of the race two miles). He talked about delving deep into the psyche of Oz Cobb, his favorite scene of the season and what fans can expect The Batman Part II. (Late viewers beware: some spoilers for the finale follow.)

***

You’re not really known as a method actor, but your castmates have spoken about the lengths you went to on set to stay in character. Why was it so important to maintain this level of illusion off camera?

In a way, my hand was forced. When you put your hands over your face and press on your face, it feels like that all day long. So I was constantly aware of it, and the only way to accept that awareness to the point where I no longer became aware of it was to remain one version of the character. Speaking with my own accent felt like a greater effort and artifice than just (briefly covers the zoom camera with his hand and switches to the voice of Oz Cobb), “Hey how are you? Good morning, good to see you.” It felt more natural and I became very obsessed with the role. It was so dark.

This isn’t “poor me” – people will hear this and leave (switches to an American surfer dude accent), “You’re an actor, get over it.” I get that. If I wasn’t an actor, I would probably deliver that gap myself. But if you’ve watched a movie for two hours and it’s a terrible movie, and you’ve seen atrocities that have disturbed you, you’ll come out and your mood will be affected. So as an actor, if you get into something and it’s really well crafted and you feel connected to it, that can affect the mood – of course you’re doing it 14 damn hours a day! This doesn’t mean you go home and don’t know who you are. But it touched me in a way that I feel [acting] should sometimes.

I find it funny that you covered the camera even when you spoke a line in Oz’s voice during a Zoom interview where we don’t record video.

(Blush) I just don’t want you to see how much exaggeration was going on.

There was this quote that went viral when you said you never wanted to wear makeup again.

Some author took this out of its energetic context. I insulted anyone who would listen to me. It’s the way I talk sometimes – “I can’t wait to finish this” – that sort of thing. I’m getting scared right now just thinking about sitting in the chair for hours. But I’ve always loved the material, and I’ve never missed the privilege of inhabiting a character who originally survived for so long in comic book form and then in various versions on television and film.

Is there a scene from the season that you are most proud of?

I’m a little more objective when I watch this show than I usually am when I watch anything I’m a part of because of the obviousness – I’m completely buried under three hours and 20 pounds of prosthetics. I don’t squirm watching Oz quite as hard as I do other characters I’ve played. However, I still find it difficult to choose a favorite. But his relationship with his mother [Deirdre O’Connell] was something that drew me to the material more than some of the scenes that might have been more entertaining or electrifying. The scene where Oz comes home and his mother is in the bath, her dementia has taken hold and he is helpless in the face of it. She begs him to kill her before things get worse for her, but she is the driving force in his life. She is his absolute hero and his inspiration and the source of a love and acceptance that he desperately wants to feel but never really got from her. But as long as she lives, he always has the opportunity to make her proud. Therefore, the thought of extinguishing the light of her life is horrifying to him. I think Oz is the most honest in the entire series.

What do you think of Oz’s decision to give up Sofia (Cristin Milioti) in the finale?

Oz is someone whose left hand almost doesn’t know what his right is doing. He’s so full of tricks. He has mastered the art of manipulation so much and there are moments that cross over into honesty. I think he had feelings for Sofia. I think he was protecting Sofia. In episode eight, I understand why sending Sofia back to Arkham is theoretically, in an interesting way, crueler than killing her [a point showrunner Lauren LeFranc makes in THR‘s post-finale interview]. I understand this argument. I don’t necessarily buy it, given the danger and threat she posed – which is incredibly impressive and haunting. I think Oz would put a bullet in her head. But that wasn’t what they wanted to do at the end of the show. So I joined in.

I feel like I already know the answer to this, but why did Oz kill Victor (Rhenzy Feliz)?)?

Why do you think?

I think the moment Victor said he considered Oz “family” he was doomed.

The gray areas are the most interesting areas to operate from, and I think certainty is sometimes death. You may have a clear idea of ​​what a scene is about, but the clearest idea you should have when living a scene is how it can be played. The key word there is “can,” and when you add that word, you are still open to all the options that you may not have thought of, that may be suggested to you, or that might just pop into your head. Immediately after Oz’s love for his mother is used against him and almost brings him down, he can’t really come to terms with the idea of ​​being so close to someone that it would make him vulnerable.

What’s new? The Batman Part II?

I haven’t even read a script yet.

Is there anything you would like to experience with this character at some point?

Not really. I definitely don’t expect anything. I signed up for three Batman movies, but I didn’t know if I would be in the second movie. Matt Reeves is a brilliant writer and an extraordinary filmmaker, and what excites and excites me most about the second film is not what Oz does – or what predicaments he finds himself in, or what moments of success he gets to experience – but what is his voice ? What is his personality like? It formed and changed throughout the limited series, and by the end of the eight episodes it solidified into something else. There is a certain level of delusional psychopathy present in the final scene. How is this addressed in the second film? I was told I have five or six scenes. I have no hopes or expectations. I’m really an open book and that’s how I get aroused or not by shit. I sometimes think that when actors have a career of a certain length, they sometimes have to make too many decisions. But that doesn’t mean I won’t fight back, argue, or fight in Oz’s corner – I think I know him better than anyone now.

***
The penguin is now streaming all episodes on Max Read THRPost-finale interview with showrunner Lauren LeFranc.

This story first appeared in a standalone November issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.