Most viewers of The Batman would have been unaware that Colin Farrell was portraying Oswald Cobblepot if it had not been revealed ahead of time that he was playing Penguin. Thanks to hours spent every day in the makeup chair, Farrell’s portrayal of the Gotham City supervillain in the movie is totally unrecognizable. Even with his limited screen time, the character stole the show in a few moments, and a lot of fans believe Penguin’s role in this film was perfect.
It is worth noting that, in order to bring such a stunning character to life on screen, Farrell, 47, “fought valiantly”, but he wasn’t able to get ‘one special’ prop for his character. Yes, we are referring to his renowned cigar.
Although Penguin is depicted holding his trademark cigarette in DC comics, Farrell said that the movie’s studio, Warner Bros., didn’t allow smoking on screen. Well, that’s sad.
Despite Studio’s Smoking Ban, Colin Farrell ‘Fought Valiantly for a Cigar’ as Penguin
As any DC fan would know, Penguin’s trademarks are the cigarette, top hat, and monocle. The character is popularly associated with smoking in comic books, and in Batman: The Animated Series, the animated portrayal of the character even carried a cigarette. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. forbade smoking in Colin Farrell’s adaptation of Matt Reeves’s The Batman.
To be honest, The Batman does not feature any of Penguin’s trademark props. Although we understand that the creative team wanted to give the character a different appearance for the movie, Ferrell insisted on a cigar during the production. Though he claimed to have “fought valiantly” for it, the studio ultimately turned his request down.
Previously, during an interview with Jake’s Takes, the Dublin-born Irish actor discussed the following:
“Big studios make big decisions around such things as the presence of cigarettes in films. I fought valiantly for a cigar. At one stage I said, ‘I can have it unlit! Just let me have it unlit.’ They were like, ‘No.’ [As if] a bunch of 12-year-olds are going to start smoking Cuban cigars because [the Penguin is smoking cigars in a movie.]”
Before filming, Farrell tested the suitability of his Penguin look by dressing in costume and visiting a nearby Starbucks. In a subsequent interview with Collider, he revealed:
“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..I went into Starbucks and ordered myself a very un-Oswald drink.. I got a couple of stares but only because it’s such an imposing look. [Designer] Mike Marino did so much of the work for me on this, so much of the heavy lifting.”
Warner Bros. announced this tobacco policy in 2005, reportedly becoming the first film studio to do so, according to IndieWire.
When Colin Farrell’s Penguin Transformation Stunned His Co-Star
Colin Farrell did not need to smoke in order to fully embody Penguin. The actor, who donned the DC villain with the aid of prosthetic limbs and makeup, was so unrecognizable on set that his coworkers even mistook him for someone else.
During filming The Batman, Jeffrey Wright, who played James Gordon, acknowledged in an interview with SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show that he was duped by Farrell’s transformation:
“Colin walked on to set one day and I walked right passed him. I was like, ‘Okay, hey dude what’s happening? Where’s Colin? Are we going to shoot?’ It was — it’s pretty remarkable.”
Donning a white button-up, a gray suit vest, black dress pants, and shoes, Farrell perfectly captured the refined appearance of Penguin, emulating the character from comic books.
Farrell made his big screen debut as the Penguin in 2022’s The Batman, playing a ‘mid-level mobster guy’.The action film also starred Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, and Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman.
The follow-up, The Batman – Part II, is scheduled for release on October 2, 2026. Also, Colin Farrell will reprise his role of Oswald Cobblepot in the upcoming limited series The Penguin, which is being created by Lauren LeFranc for Max.
Meanwhile, you can stream The Batman on Netflix & Max.
