Colin Farrell transformed his handsome face and slender 5’8″ frame for his new HBO series The Penguin with the help of two-time Oscar-nominated makeup artist Mike Marino.
When the DC Comics crime drama called for a nude scene, the Dick Smith protégé custom-made a NSFW body part for the 48-year-old Irishman so his performance as the disfigured criminal kingpin Oswald “Oz” Cobb would look more authentic on screen.
“Marino is so twisted and brilliant. He was like, ‘I made you a penguin penis,’” Colin told People on thursday.
“I said, ‘Really? They’re not even going to see it. I don’t know if I want to walk around on set with a penguin penis.’ And he said, ‘No, no, no, dude! It’s removable, it’s Velcro. It’s got a beak on the end.’ So I had a penguin penis.’
Farrell continued, “I had a bodysuit on, so I was basically covered from wrist to ankle. The only things I was covered were my hands and feet. Everything else, including my ears, were pieces. Everything was covered.”
Colin Farrell transformed his handsome face and slender 5’10” frame for his new HBO show The Penguin with the help of two-time Oscar-nominated makeup artist Mike Marino
When the DC Comics crime drama called for a nude scene, the Dick Smith protégé (right, pictured in 2022) created a NSFW body part specifically for the 48-year-old Irishman to make his performance as the disfigured criminal kingpin Oswald “Oz” Cobb more authentic onscreen.
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 that before. You move your face and see what happens. I knew that facial expressions manifested through the mask in a certain way and how beautifully it was designed, so I just went for it,” said Colin – who honed his mob voice with dialect coach Jessica Drake.
“If it hadn’t been for Mike’s design, and I can tell you now that I would have been the only one with a goddamn cigarette, a top hat, a little limp and an umbrella that doubled as a machine gun, we would never have had the HBO show.”
Farrell also served as an executive producer on Lauren LeFranc’s eight-episode spinoff series, premiering Thursday at 9 p.m. on HBO and Max.
The Penguin currently holds a ‘certified fresh’ rating of 88% from critics (from 74 reviews) and an audience score of 73% on Rotten tomatoes.
The series about the criminal underworld of Gotham City takes place one week after the events of Matt Reeves. critically acclaimed The 2022 reboot of The Batman, which grossed $772.2 million worldwide.
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 will also reprise his role as Penguin for Reeves’ 2026 sequel, The Batman – Part II, which begins filming in April next year at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in England.
Colin told People on Thursday, “Marino is so twisted and brilliant. He was like, ‘I made you a penguin penis.’ I was like, ‘Really? They’re not even going to see it. I don’t know if I want to go on set with a penguin penis.’ And he was like, ‘No, no, no, man! It’s removable, it’s Velcro. It has a beak on the end.’ So I had a penguin penis.”
Farrell continued, “I had a bodysuit on, so I was basically covered from wrist to ankle. The only things I was covered were my hands and feet. Everything else, including my ears, were pieces. Everything was covered” (on set in 2023)
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 (pictured in 2022)
Colin – who honed his mafia voice with dialect coach Jessica Drake – said: ‘I couldn’t believe it, yeah. I’d never done anything like that before. You move your face and see what happens. I knew that facial expressions would manifest through the mask in a certain way and how beautifully it was designed, so I just went for it.’
Farrell continued: “If it hadn’t been for Mike’s design, I’m telling you now, if it had been me with a fucking cigarette and a top hat and a little limp and an umbrella that was a machine gun, we wouldn’t have the HBO show.”
The Sugar producer also served as executive producer on Lauren LeFranc’s eight-episode spinoff series, premiering Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max
The Penguin currently holds a “certified fresh” approval rating of 88% from critics (out of 74 reviews) and a 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes
Colin will also play the role of David opposite Margot Robbie in Kogonada’s California-set romantic fantasy film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, which hits theaters May 9.
Next year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce will honor Farrell with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – which requires a $50,000 sponsorship amount, a $250 application fee, and fan nominations.
On October 7, the two-time Golden Globe winner and his former Ondine colleague Alicja Bachleda-Curús, who split in 2010, will celebrate the 15th birthday of their son Henry Tadeusz Farrell.
Colin also had a 21-year-old son, James Padraig Farrell, who has Angelman syndrome, with his first baby mama, Kim Bordenave.
Farrell, who was in rehab in 2006 and 2018, is said to have had affairs with celebrities including Michelle Rodriguez, Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears and Demi Moore.
