Scene movie star ‘f***ing hated’ to film

Colin Farrell has revealed the scene in streaming mega-hit The Penguin that he “hated” filming, feeling “cruel” and “gross”.

IN THE US

The lead actor in one of the year’s biggest streaming hits has said he “f***ing hated” filming a crucial – and controversial – scene in the series’ final episode.

“I hated that scene. I really did,” star Colin Farrell said about one of the final moments in The Penguin, which aired over the weekend.

An unrecognisable Farrell has received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin.

The success of The Penguin, which streams on BINGE and Foxtel in Australia, surprised even its own creators.

In the US, 5.3 million viewers initially tuned in for its premiere in September, beating the premieres of the most recent season of The White Lotus and the final season of Succession – both mega-hits of their own.

Weeks later, more than 14 million people have now watched The Penguin’s premiere.

In Australia, BINGE has said The Penguin is the “biggest new series of the year”.

Stream The Penguin now on BINGE, available on Hubbl.

Colin Farell has said he “f***ing hated” doing one particular secene in The Penguin. Picture: ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP.

Farrell joined co-star Cristin Milioti, who played mob boss Sofia Falcone to rave reviews, and The Penguin’s showrunner Lauren LeFranc for a press conference in Los Angeles this week to chat about how the season had played out.

Farrell said the reception to The Penguin was “extraordinary”.

“I didn’t expect the response to be what it seems to have been which is really touching.

“It’s rare. (I’ve) been acting for a couple of decades now – at least – and I’ve never had an experience like this.

“The response has been extraordinary and I’m super grateful”.

Colin Farrell is unrecognisable as Oz Cobb, aka The Penguin.

The Penguin finale spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.

A spin-off of the 2022 Matt Reeves blockbuster The Batman, the show sees Farrell, who vanishes under a thick Gotham City drawl and layers of prosthetics and make-up, reprising his role from the film.

Picking up where the movie ended, The Penguin delves into Oz’s scheming to become top dog in the Gotham mob.

But he has to contend with Miliot’s Falcone, who has her own murderous intentions to rule the underworld.

He has a dysfunctional father-son relationship with sidekick Victor Aguilar that reaches its tragic conclusion in the final episode, when Victor reveals just how much Oz now means to him.

“Victor is the purest example of heart and innocence (in The Penguin) and the loss that Victor has suffered in his life, he’s played no part of at all,” said Farrell.

In Oz’s world of murderous criminality, family are a vulnerability others can use to bend you to their will. But if you care for no one, you are immune. And young Victor pays the final, brutal price, for showing Oz he still cares.

Cristin Milioti has got rave reviews from her portrayal of Sophia Falcone in The Penguin. (Photo by LISA O'CONNOR / AFP)

‘Hated it’

“I f***ing hated it. I hated that scene. I really did,” Farrell told website Collider of filming Victor’s death scene.

“I was f***ing so pissed off. It felt in performing it as – guess what? – you would feel in viewing it.

“It felt gross, it felt cruel, it felt absolutely insane, and it felt like Oz was reaching a point of no return.”

Farrell added that through the series Oz had become a psychopath which manifested itself in the “most violent and most explicit articulation,” with the killing of his loyal assistant.

“And he commits it without compunction and with absolute understanding and with a rationalisation for why he’s committing it.”

L-R: The Penguin actors Michael Kelly and Rhenzy Feliz, showrunner Lauren LeFranc, and actors Cristin Milioti, Deirdre O’Connell and Clancy Brown at New York Comic Con. Picture: Getty

The killing of Victor, Farrell said, meant there was not even a glimmer of goodness in the show’s protagonist.

“No matter how dark your character is, you always want them to feel that maybe there is some sliver of humanity left (that) you could redeem yourself.

“I’m not sure that’s possible by the end of episode 8”.

The last episode of The Penguin finally makes an explicit link back to the Batman universe, allowing the TV series to be a bridge between the earlier film and its upcoming sequel TheBatman II, which will also star Farrell.

Talking to news.com.au last month, Ms LeFranc said the omission of the character Batman from The Penguin was deliberate.

“This was Oz’s story to tell and I wanted to make it interesting enough that you would want to engage with him.

“Bringing Batman into it would interfere with that idea.

“We had was to create dynamic characters that you have strong feelings towards that you do forget and stop thinking about the Batman.”

The Penguin is streaming now on BINGE, available on Hubbl