Danny DeVito gives his opinion on Colin Farrell’s Penguin: “He’s a brilliant actor. I love him”
Decades after playing the titular aquatic villain, Danny DeVito offered his opinion of Colin Farrell’s performance as The Penguin in The Batman. Set in the crime-addled city of Gotham, Farrell’s take was a mob box entrenched in the corrupt politics of Gotham.
When asked about Farrell’s portrayal, DeVito was highly complimentary of his performance, telling Variety, “He’s a brilliant actor. I love him. He’s a good friend. He’s a good man. I loved seeing him as the Penguin. I thought he was great. He reminds me of a couple of my relatives back in Jersey”.
DeVito had previously worked on Batman Returns, which starred Michael Keaton as the first incarnation of The Caped Crusader. As opposed to Farrell’s take on the character, DeVito’s was more anthropomorphic, leaning into the animalistic angle, including biting off the nose of one of the city officials. DeVito’s incarnation of the character came under fire at the time because of how graphic the movie was for kids.
For the reimagining of Batman in 2022, Matt Reeves went for gritty realism, using films like David Fincher’s Seven as inspiration for Paul Dano’s Riddler. Prior to filming the movie, DeVito had worked with Farrell on the live-action remake of Disney’s Dumbo, which also featured input from Tim Burton. Farrell’s take on The Penguin also is set to have his own HBO show currently in production as well.
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