‘The Penguin’: Colin Farrell on Texting with ‘Super Supportive’ Danny DeVito (Exclusive)

Colin Farrell talked to “Extra’s” Melvin Robert about the new HBO miniseries “The Penguin,” which follows the events of “The Batman” as Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin tries to seize control of the world of crime in Gotham. 

Colin spoke about how intense the world and the character are, which left him feeling a bit grumpy by the end of shooting! 

“It is a dark world, and dark character and… Matt [Reeves] created the template for what Oz was going to ever become if it was ever revisited, which we did with this show. And Matt created an extraordinary world of Gotham and then Lauren just took Matt’s template and just delved into the psychology of the character and created really complex relationships, particularly between Oz and his mother.”

Farrell confessed, “I was kind of grumpy by the end… still very aware of the good fortune I had to play the character.”

He said, I was greedy during the film, because I thought five or six scenes wasn’t enough for all the effort I put in… and I feel like I’m good now.”

The star also dished on why he actually loved the three hours he had to spend in the makeup chair every morning. 

“I just loved it… we listened to music in the trailer, I’d hit the script, thought about the upcoming scenes of the day.”

What was he listening to? “Everything from Puccini to White Snake… everything from every decade.”

Farrell noted how unusual it was that “plenty of crew members on the last day who said that they never met me… I worked with them for a year and never got to meet like this,” referencing his face without makeup. “Which was so strange.”

Plus, he revealed that he has texted back and forth with past Penguin actor Danny DeVito, who he calls “super supportive” and “super cool.” 

“Me and Danny shared a couple of texts back and forth, nothing serious about talking about the character, just little slags. He’s supe supportive, Devito? He’s magic man, he’s super cool.” 

Colin added, “He still thinks his Penguin is better than mine,” adding with a laugh, “Thank God we can’t concretize an answer on that.”

The star recalled, “I grew up watching his Penguin… as a cinema going youngster Danny DeVito’s Oswald Cobblepot was so amazing.”

“Danny was just amazing, he was just so otherworldly,” but yet, “Human frailty and feeling of insignificance and feeling like you’re on the outside, but having this ambition and drive and having this darkness at the heart of the man.”

Colin saw similarities, but with his Penguin you get to “really get into the psychology of the character and ask why he is the way he is.”