Colin Farrell famously transformed his handsome face and slim 5ft10in form for his new HBO show The Penguin with help from two-time Oscar-nominated make-up artist Mike Marino.
So when the DC Comics crime drama called for a nude scene, the Dick Smith protégé crafted a NSFW body part especially for the 48-year-old Irishman in order to make his performance as disfigured criminal kingpin Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb more authentic onscreen.
‘Marino is so twisted and brilliant. He was like, “I made you a penguin penis,”‘ Colin recalled to People on Thursday.
‘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.’
Farrell continued: ‘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.’
The Oscar-nominated actor’s transformation – which was reportedly inspired by Harvey Weinstein – took three hours each morning with Mike and his Prosthetic Renaissance team including two pieces for the bodysuit and nine pieces for the face.
‘I couldn’t believe it, yeah. I’d never done anything like it. You’re moving your face and seeing what happens. I knew expressions manifested a particular way through the mask and how beautifully it was designed, so I just went for it,’ Colin – who honed his mobster voice with dialect coach Jessica Drake – said.
‘If it wasn’t for Mike’s design, I’m telling you now, if it was just me with a f***ing cigarette and a top hat and a bit of a limp and an umbrella that was a machine gun, we wouldn’t have had the HBO show.’
Farrell also served as executive producer on Lauren LeFranc’s eight-episode spin-off series, which premieres Thursday at 9pm on HBO and Max.
The Penguin currently has a ‘certified fresh’ 88% critic approval rating (out of 74 reviews) and a 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The show about Gotham City’s criminal underworld is set one week after the events of Matt Reeves’ critically-acclaimed 2022 reboot The Batman, which earned $772.2M at the global box office.
The Penguin – which does not feature Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne/Batman – also stars Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Clancy Brown, Mark Strong, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Deirdre O’Connell, and Michael Zegen.
The Sugar producer-star will also reprise his Penguin role for Reeves’ 2026 sequel The Batman – Part II, which begins filming next April at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England.
Colin will also portray David opposite Margot Robbie in Kogonada’s California-set romantic fantasy A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, which is scheduled to hit US theaters on May 9.
Next year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce will honor Farrell with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – which requires a $50K sponsorship fee, $250 application fee, and fan-submitted nominations.
On October 7, the two-time Golden Globe winner and his former Ondine co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curús – who split in 2010 – will celebrate the 15th birthday of their son Henry Tadeusz Farrell.
Colin also fathered 21-year-old son James Padraig Farrell, who has Angelman Syndrome, with babymama #1 Kim Bordenave.
Farrell – who did rehab stints in 2006 and 2018 – has reportedly romanced celebs like Michelle Rodriguez, Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, and Demi Moore.
