Colin Farrell Praises ‘The Penguin’ Co-star Rhenzy Feliz

Colin Farrell wanted to see how convincing his physical transformation was to play Oswald “Oz” Cobb for “The Penguin,” so he went out in public – to Starbucks.

“We went to a Starbucks when we did the first make-up test,” Farrell recently revealed at a FYC event for the HBO limited series. The actor is unrecognizable under prosthetics that pockmark his skin and completely change the shape of his chin and nose, along with a padded suit. He also put in his order using his character’s thick New York accent and walked with his signature limp.  

“Nothing happened,” Farrell revealed. “I don’t know, I thought people might stare a bit more. We’re a bunch of starers.”

The actor adds that the first time he saw himself in the full makeup by prosthetics designer Mike Marino for the movie “The Batman,” he couldn’t stop staring. “You ever seen the YouTubes of a cat seeing itself in the mirror for the first time? It was like that,” he said. “And I never fully got used to looking in the mirror and seeing that image looking back at me.”

That first makeup test took place on the Warner Bros lot and Farrell remembers it vividly. “I’ve had extraordinary days over 25 years of being an actor, but it was one of the most extraordinarily exciting days,” he noted.

The FYC event was held this past Sunday on the Paramount lot and featured two Q&A panels bookending a screening of the series finale. The first panel focused on the below-the-line crafts, featuring Marino, EP and showrunner Lauren LeFranc, production designer Kalina Ivanov, director Craig Zobel, director Helen Shaver, VFX Supervisor Johnny Han, and cinematographer Jonathan Freeman. She second panel featured primarily actors from the series – Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz and Deidre O’Connell – along with LeFranc and EP Dylan Clark. Following the event, guests were treated to New York-themed food like Nathan’s hot dogs, Reuben sandwiches and cannoli.

(Spoilers to follow!) Farrell also spoke about the tragedies that formed Oz’s life, particularly how as a child his brothers were drowned after he locked them in a sewer during a rainstorm. Farrell tried to reason that perhaps he didn’t mean to kill them. “He’s not, he’s not an architectural engineer. I don’t think he knew the water was going to rise,” he said. “You kind of need a monsoon, by the way – I would get into what it takes for the water to rise 20 feet in a place that’s not air sealed.”

Farrell than laughed before admitting, “Yeah, I’m still trying to justify him. There’s no doubt his brothers are no longer in the world as a result of something that he did. But he was just a really complex character.”

People were also upset by the series ending, where Oz kills his young protegee Vic (Feliz) because he realizes any attachment to someone makes him weak. Asked if they were aware how angry people were, Feliz joked, “Yeah, I saw the tweets. People were upset.” To which O’Connell quipped, “But he’s not an architectural engineer!” Farrell laughed, admitting Oz couldn’t call that death an accident: “I knew how that one was gonna work out.”

Feliz said that he was actually a bit relieved the episode got such a response, as he originally worried his character would be perceived as boring. “Lauren had told me what was going to be happening in the eighth episode,” he noted. “I was afraid that nobody would, nobody would really care if he died.”

Farrell quickly corrected his young co-star, praising, “Your work concretized the depth of the villainy of the whole character by the end the show, because the audience cared so much about you.” He added that in many ways, Feliz had the most challenging role of the series. “He was the moral center of the film. He was the only kind of good element constant in the eight hours. You had the hardest part, and you were extraordinary. The audience cared so much about you.”

Farrell added that he had an instant reaction when he knew Oz would kill Vic. “When I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh God, is that a bridge too far?’” he admits. “And I know it’s only make-believe but on the set that night, I was in an awful funk.”

Farrell wasn’t alone. “Everyone loved Victor,” said LeFranc. “Our whole crew… we were all tearing up and we were all horrified. It’s so painful and the two of them that night were so exceptional in that scene because it’s actually a lovely moment before Oz does what he does.”