Oswald “Oz” Cobb – of The Batman and its spinoff TV series, The Penguin, is one of the most distinctive-looking and engaging characters to ever grace a screen. So it’s wild to be reminded that in actuality, it’s just Colin Farrell under mountains of makeup and prosthetics. Farrell’s been real about “bitching and moaning” about the process of transforming into the character, but he really committed to the role, as evidenced by his 2025 Emmy nomination. Now, Farrell is recalling how he reacted upon seeing Matt Reeves’ OG rendering of OZ.
When it came to developing the world of The Batman, director and producer Matt Reeves wanted to create a universe that was true to the comics but also unique unto itself. Reeves’ take on Penguin isn’t the gentleman gangster of the comics, but he’s also not the grotesque, bird-like monster that Tim Burton imagined. Colin Farrell recently explained to Deadline Contenders at an HBO Max event that when he saw Reeves and prosthetics expert Mike Marino’s Oz, he was taken aback and humorously dropped an f-bomb:
I’ll never forget it. He opened up his laptop and it was Oz in the film. And I went, ‘What the fuck is that? Really?’ And he said, ‘Yeah yeah yeah. Marino said he can do it. He can do it every day. It’s gonna move and it’s gonna be real, and you’re gonna have freedom in it.’ I instantly got really excited about the possibilities of it.
Considering that the Irish actor is known to (delightfully) swear on certain occasions, I love the fact that he dropped the f-bomb when he saw what the eponymous Penguin would look like. Seriously, I can just hear the expletive as he would say it, and may have reacted in the same way upon seeing what Matt Reeves and Mike Marino had come up with. As the Oscar nominee mentioned, though, he was also “excited” and, during his interview, he further explained why he had those feelings:
There was a certain alchemy to it. It’s a very powerful thing to know yourself a certain way and then look at a mirror and see this creature looking back at you. You have no experiential reference point for it. It kind of had an effect for me that was counter to what I thought it would have. It was such a liberating experience, thankfully, because Lauren designed such a despicably dark and really psychologically nuanced character. It just gave me so much range of psychological freedom. I mean, I totally got lost in it, willingly.
I can still remember seeing the first good glimpse of Oz Cobb in the second trailer for The Batman, and I had to admit that Colin Farrell was completely unrecognizable in the role. Not only had his outward appearance changed, but his accent and body language were strikingly different as well. From the moment I heard the Gotham City-based gangster utter the words “take it easy, sweetheart” to the Dark Knight himself, I assumed fans were in for something special, and I was right. It’s cool to hear that the experience was so “liberating” for Farrell as a performer, and he certainly doesn’t waste any of his screentime when he’s playing Oz.
Of course, now, there’s the question as to whether Farrell will have the opportunity to reprise Cobb for another season of The Penguin. Matt Reeves and co. are remaining coy on that but, all the while, Farrell has made it clear that he’d only be “open” to it if there’s an idea truly worth pursuing. Otherwise, fans may not see Farrell play the role again until the long-awaited The Batman: Part II.
Regardless of what happens moving forward, I remain amazed over the creation of Oz Cobb – from both prosthetic and acting standpoints. I’m also excited to see if Matt Reeves and Mike Marino devise ideas for other makeup-heavy characters that can generate f-bombs upon the first look. For now, check out Colin Farrell’s sketchy character by streaming all eight episodes of The Penguin as well as The Batman using an HBO Max subscription.
