How Colin Farrell Transformed Into Penguin

Colin Farrell is unrecognizable as Penguin in "The Batman," to the point where some folks had no idea it was him underneath the costume while watching the movie. The same sentiment rings true for his outing as Oswald Cobb on HBO's emotionally intelligent spin-off series, "The Penguin," where he continues to look nothing like the charming Irish actor everyone knows and loves.

This franchise clearly wants Farrell's appearance to reflect the Penguin's sleazy aspects, and accomplishing this feat was an arduous task for the creators. As documented by YouTuber Luke Sherran, Farrell has praised acclaimed makeup artist Michael Marino for bringing Cobb's distinct look to life in "The Batman" and on "The Penguin," noting that he's a genius. Despite being impressed by the artist's creative prowess, however, the actor noted that being buried underneath all of those prosthetics required him to sit in the makeup chair for up to four hours some days — and that doesn't include the time he spent filming his scenes.

The patience and hard work paid off, though, as Farrell truly inhabits the character. That said, while sitting in a makeup chair for hours was a challenge for the actor, Marino also faced difficulties while creating the Penguin costume in the first place. With that in mind, let's find out how the artist went about ensuring that Cobb looked credible and didn't become ridiculous.

Every unique character presentation starts with a vision, but bringing those ideas to life often requires some out-of-the-box thinking. In order to create Colin Farrell's Penguin transformation, Michael Marino and his team had to invent a costume that embodied the character without going overboard. This required the creators to craft original prosthetics, which Marino opened up about in an enlightening interview with Forbes.

"On the technical end, we really developed a new kind of silicone, which varies in densities and thickness. It was like many different variables of skin, like it was created by God. As a designer, I have to think of, how do I get close to that? It's not just one material — one thing. How can I have Colin's face move the most realistic?"

Marino added that it was a constant effort to make Penguin look believable and prevent his appearance from being too weird. Fortunately, most people agree that the makeup artist did a great job working on "The Batman" and "The Penguin," as the character's look is enough to make viewers suspend their disbelief and believe that he's a living, breathing, fully-formed person. On top of that, the costume allowed Farrell to come out of his comfort zone.

Colin Farrell was ready for a Penguin series as soon as he put on the makeup to shoot "The Batman." The actor believes that the franchise has only scratched the surface of the places it can take his character, and it's a role he clearly has fun playing. That said, he's also credited Michael Marino and his team for creating a costume that made him feel comfortable playing such a dastardly villain without any reservations. Furthermore, it meant that he could disguise his true feelings during bad days on the set.

"I could be having a really bad day, and nobody would know. It was basically mask work," he told ITV. "I would find it hard, I think, to even give myself permission to be as vulnerable and decrepit and narcissistic and psychopathic, if I didn't have the bells and whistles of being completely hidden behind this mask. I felt very liberated."

The debate surrounding who's better between Farrell's take on Penguin and Danny DeVito's in "Batman Returns" will undoubtedly rage on for years to come. However, even if you prefer DeVito's portrayal of the Gotham villain, there's no denying that Farrell put his all into the role. As a result, it's arguably one of the Irish actor's best performances to date — and he's impressed in lots of projects.