The Penguin star Cristin Milioti reveals “most thrilling” scene to film

Chris Tilly
Sofia Falcone in a fur coat in The Penguin.

Cristin Milioti finds it hard to watch herself on screen, but there’s one scene in The Penguin that she’s particularly proud of.

Milioti has received universal praise for her performance in The Penguin, with character Sofia Falcone experiencing the most dramatic arc in the series.

As we approach the end of the show’s first season, Miloti has been looking back on her work, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I find watching myself as excruciating. I think a lot of actors feel that way. But I will say, there are definitely scenes that I did that I loved doing.”

She also goes into detail about the show’s plot, so SPOILERS AHEAD

The first of those moments happens at the end of The Penguin Episode 4, when Sofia addresses the rest of the Falcones at a family dinner, and calls them out for ruining her life.

Sofia Falcone in Episode 3 of The Penguin

“I would say the speech at dinner with my family, and the ensuing aftermath, that whole sequence from the minute I entered the dining room to the very end of the episode was very, very thrilling.”

The second scene is in Episode 7 of The Penguin, where Sofia threatens an orphan before realizing she’s turning into her father through such behavior.

“I remember reading that scene and being like, ‘holy moly,’ it’s such a brutal scene. But I was so excited about it and so moved by it; it’s so complicated.

“But of course, this is what this person would do. What’s beautiful about that scene, too, is she’s quite literally trying to burn her father’s legacy to the ground and saying, ‘I’m nothing like him, he’s a monster,’ and she does the exact same thing to this little girl. She sentences her to the exact same life, in a way, but she truly is believing that she’s doing that child a service.

“In her mind, she’s doing the right thing — ‘I’m saving you from something you don’t know about’ — while ruining this child’s life.”

The final episode of The Penguin Season 1 airs on November 10, 2024. For more on the show, we’re got articles on if Robert Pattinson is in The Penguin, and why Dr Julian Rush may be a secret Batman villain. Alternatively, check out our list of the best superhero movies of all time.