Colin Farrell reveals strange detail about The Penguin costume no one wanted to know

The Penguin star Colin Farrell broke down how his transformation into the titular included a full body suit with an extra appendage.

Set weeks after the events of 2022’s The Batman, The Penguin‘s first episode chock full of Easter eggs, including one that’s hidden in a QR code.

The series is also filled to the brim with characters who have their own unique styles. But, no one sticks out more than Farrell, the man who plays the Penguin himself.

In order to portray into Gotham City’s bird villain, the actor had to undergo a complete physical transformation as he told People Magazine, “I had a bodysuit, so I was basically covered wrist to ankle. Only things that were me were my hands and feet. Everything else, including ears, were pieces. Everything was covered.”

He continued, “[Mike] Marino is so twisted and brilliant. He was like, ‘I made you a penguin penis. I said, ‘Really? They’re not even going to see it. I don’t know if I want to walk on set with a penguin penis.’ And he was like, ‘No, no, no, dude. It’s detachable, it’s Velcro. It’s got a beak at the end of it.’ So I had a penguin penis.”

Marino, who worked as the effects artist on both The Batman and the spinoff, created the member for a particular scene in which Oz appears naked.

Farrell went on to give Marino his deserved flowers for his work on The Penguin, going so far as to claim the series never would’ve been made without the artist’s unique vision for Oz’s look.

“If it wasn’t for Mike’s design, I’m telling you now, if it was just me with a f**king cigarette and a top hat and a bit of a limp and an umbrella that was a machine gun,” the actor said. “We wouldn’t have had the HBO show.”

HBO

In total, Farrell had to spend around three hours a day with Marino and the effects team as they had to “spray paint like seven different pieces, ball cap, wig on top of ball cap, and then they’d get into spraying every little pockmark, every little zit, every little crease, every little scar.”

Despite having positive remarks about Marino’s work, the actor isn’t too keen on getting back into Oz’s shoes now that the eight episode arc has wrapped.

“Lauren [LeFranc, showrunner] said, ‘Look, if I could find a way that makes sense, would you talk about [Season 2]?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely,” Farrell said during an interview with Total Film, “And maybe in a year I would. But when I finished I was like, ‘I never want to put that f**king suit and that f**king head on again.'”

The Penguin Episode 1 is now streaming on Max. Make sure you keep up with our release schedule for The Penguin so you don’t miss any new episodes. And you can check out our guides to the upcoming DC movies like the Joker 2.