Colin Farrell drew inspiration from The Godfather in order to get into character as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
“There’s a certain amount of brokenness in Oz that, I think, as a reference, not for me performance-wise, but just emotionally, as a reference for Matt — I think Fredo from The Godfather was a bit of a reference,” Farrell told MovieMaker when asked about his new version of the iconic Batman villain, who’s been portrayed more outlandishly in previous iterations.
Farrell continued, “Matt was just talking about somebody who had very real and very lofty ambitions, but never really had the opportunity or the chance to explore them, and was maybe looked upon as someone who was handicapped, whether it was psychologically, intellectually — Fredo was frowned upon as less than the other brothers, and maybe Oz as well, in his life, was looked upon as somebody who wasn’t capable. And so that’s one of the things that fuels Oz.”
Played by the late John Cazale in The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II, Fredo Corleone was considered the weakest brother in the Corleone crime family. After he’s stepped over by his more capable younger brother, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), Fredo betrays him, which ultimately leads to Michael ordering a hit on his older brother.
Farrell previously revealed he doesn’t have much screen time in The Batman, as Paul Dano’s The Riddler serves as the film’s main antagonist. “I’m only in it for five or six scenes [as Penguin], so I can’t wait to see the film ’cause it won’t be ruined by my presence,” said Farell. “It’s a freebie for me. I’ll get a little uncomfortable for the fucking nine minutes I have and then the rest I cannot wait to see how [writer/director Matt Reeves] brought this world to life.”
Despite his limited presence in The Batman, Farrell will reprise his role as the Gotham City mobster in a Penguin-centric spinoff series for HBO Max. The Penguin was previously portrayed by Danny DeVito in Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns. Burgess Meredith was the first to play the DC supervillain on the 1960s Batman TV show. More recently, Robin Lord Taylor portrayed a young Penguin on the Fox series Gotham.
The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, hits theaters March 4.
Source: MovieMaker
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