The Penguin is coming to town, and he is played by Collin Farrell. The iconic villain from Batman’s rogue gallery has finally got an origin series in line for HBO Max.
The chocolate boy from teenage dreams has grown up to become a monster. A monster that roams the streets of Gotham is being resurrected, and HBO Max is filming every moment of it. Penguin is a despicable gangster character from old school Batman, a man who has been repeatedly depicted on screen. Still, Colin Farrel is wearing rather pointy shoes and a fat suit to don the look of the classic villain. And the excitement is palpable. Why is Colin Farrell so important?
HIGHLIGHTS —
- Colin Farrell career
- Penguin history
- HBO Max show
The Career
Colin Farrell started acting in feature films with Tim Roth’s directorial debut, ‘The War Zone’, where he played beside Tilda Swinton and Ray Winstone. But, ‘Tigherland’ was what got him noticed, a “Guardian” reviewer said, “The latest surly flame to ignite the screen is Colin Farrell in Joel Schumacher’s ‘Nam epic, Tigerland”.
His subsequent films were ‘Hart’s War’ and ‘American Outlaws’, both successful enough to make him a mainstay in Hollywood. Talking about his role in ‘Phone Booth’, the famous reviewer, Roger Ebert, said, “The movie is Farrell’s to win or lose, since he’s onscreen most of the time, and he shows energy and intensity”.
His comic book journey started with ‘Daredevil’ where he played the role of the supervillain Bullseye. For the character, he learned about Frank Miller’s comics. Later he moved on to independent movies, working with legendary directors.
With many different features under his hat by 2010, he was minting money. He had ‘S.W.A.T’, ‘Total Recall’ and other films under his belt. In 2016, Colin Farrell was also cast in another franchise, working in the Harry Potter spin-off, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’.
Throughout his film career, Farrell has battled addictions. He finally got clean in the late 2010s and has been trying to keep a straight life ever since. When asked about people prying into his personal life and addictions, he said,
“I’m not going to lie, there are more interesting ways to spend your time than answering questions about yourself. But if there were no questions to ask me, I might have a beef with that”.
But, by the latter half of the decade, he was back to making blockbusters, and he is currently back to making successful films. Collen Farrell signed to return as The Penguin has hit the news headlines recently.
The Penguin
The Penguin is one of the most iconic characters from Batman’s rogue’s gallery. He is portrayed as one of the gentlemen mobsters in Gotham city. Unspeakably brutal, the Penguin got his start by stealing. But, soon, the villain got famous, and under the work of Bill Finger and Bob Kane, he became a notorious gangster in the city.
He has pulled off many heinous crimes throughout his history and is known for his weird gait and short stature. While he has been foiled multiple times by Batman, he keeps coming back and is one of the leaders of the rogues in the city. In the Batman spin-off series, Colin Farrell will be portraying a villain scarred by childhood bullying and having a lot of pain to showcase.
The HBO Max Story
When Colin Farrell picks up the lead, he’d be competing with Robin Lord Taylor. The young actor has played the Penguin in ‘Gotham’, and he has been one of the best portrayals of the character on the television screen. The HBO Max series is supposed to take after the villain and flesh out the character you see in the ‘Batman’ movie. Sadly, the ‘Batman’ movie would not have an extended role for Colin Farrell’s Penguin. But, with the spin-off series, Colin Farrell would get to portray the supervillain in all its weird glory.
