A new clip has surfaced showcasing Colin Farrell’s dramatic transformation into The Penguin.
Farrell, who initially took on the role in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, is set to reprise his character as the infamous crime boss.
For this role, the Irish actor donned a fat suit along with extensive facial prosthetics.
He will be stepping back into character for The Penguin, an upcoming spin-off gangster series intended for a mature audience.
The series will feature a star-studded ensemble including Cristin Milioti, Mark Strong, Clancy Brown, and Theo Rossi.
However, the timing of the video release isn’t ideal for the show’s marketing, given Farrell’s recent complaints about the suit.
In an interview with TotalFilm about a potential second season, Farrell admitted, “I don’t know, man. Don’t get me wrong – I loved it – but it got in on me a little bit.”
He elaborated, “By the end of it, I was b****ing and moaning to anyone who would listen to me that I f**king wanted it to be finished.”
He continued, “I was still grateful, and still honored – I grew up watching Burgess Meredith and then Danny DeVito was my Penguin.”
“Being a part of the lineage of that storytelling, I really did feel privileged.”
However, regarding the filming, Farrell added, “When I finished I was like, ‘I never want to put that f***ing suit and that f***ing head on again.”
The transformation video, while undeniably impressive, provides insight into why Farrell felt this way.
The footage shows Farrell undergoing an extensive process involving multiple layers of prosthetics and the fat suit.
In the video, which was released by HBO Max, Farrell describes the process as ‘so intense’, saying, “Someone was doing the teeth, someone was doing the hair, someone was puncturing the hair, someone doing the skull cap, three [people] applying the makeup, two [people] applying the bodysuit, two [people] from wardrobe.”
One fan remarked, “It is truly amazing how they turn the most gorgeous man on the planet into that!”
Another fan on Reddit commented, “I hope this perspective reminds people to be grateful towards actors who put up with various make-up / costumes for their art and for our entertainment.”
“From wearing a motion capture suit all day to 3AM starts to get painted as an alien, a lot of actors have to put up with such problems, especially in the worlds of comic books and science fiction.”
The Penguin is set to premiere on HBO on September 19.