For Colin Farrell, being cast in The Penguin was, in his words, a “dream come true.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor looks back at the special moment, describing it as “that child in Dublin who used to draw Batman signals on his jeans.”
But, when he first got the script, the actor admits, he did not understand the vision of director Matt Reeves for his character, which first appeared in The Batman.
“I was so excited when I got the script and then I read it and was like ‘I’ve only got five scenes,’” he continues. “I didn’t really get it either. I thought he was a bit silly, a bit of a putz.”
However, Colin adds his confusion was sorted after he saw the mockup look of the villain he was set to play.
“I’ll never forget it. Matt went: ‘Come in, come in.’ And he opened up his laptop and showed it to me. The first time I saw it, the cogs crunched. Everything in the script became clear,” the Fantastic Beasts star recalls.
He notes, “Every little pockmark. The character was ferocious looking, but I could imagine every aspect of the character’s life, even moving ones. It just gave me so much information.”
His character became such a hit that it spawned a spinoff show titled The Penguin. In the series, Colin says he gets much time to dig deeper into his character.
“I can do five hours a day riffing as the Penguin, and even my sense of humor changes. I’d call my kids in character,” the actor recounts.
Colin, meanwhile, will appear on the upcoming The Batman: Part II.
