Colin Farrell has said he’s not sure he’s up for a second season of The Penguin because it’s really hard wearing all of the required prosthetics. It takes a whole lot of time and effort to transform him into the much larger Oz Cobb. But while Farrell grew tired of wearing all that extra bulk by season’s end, he still appreciates how his makeup team went the extra mile to make sure he had all the…girth…he need in the show’s premiere. The Penguin star said even though we didn’t see it, he was wearing an anatomically correct little penguin during his nude scene.
The Penguin‘s first episode ended with a naked Oz Cobb tied to a chair. Sofia Falcone had him tortured while questioning him about her brother’s murder. While a fantastic scene on its own, it really highlighted just how talented the show’s hair and makeup really are. We got to see all of Oz in all his glory. Mostly. Though completely naked we didn’t see the Penguin’s personal…south pole. Turns out if we had we would have seen a properly sized henchman for the character.
Farrell told Variety the show’s prosthetics designer Michael Marino was “kind enough to make Oz, shall we say, anatomically correct.” Marino did that by constructing a “velcro piece to stick on” to Farrell’s other body prosthetics. And as if that wasn’t enough, for extra naked authenticity, Farrell shared his character was also sporting “a nice retro bush.”
That’s how we looked after reading that. If you need a moment/lifetime to get over knowing this information, so do we. So. Do. We.
As for actually filming as a nude Oz Cobb, Farrell said it was “strange” and “discomforting.” Even though he wasn’t actually naked, he felt as though he was. In-between takes he asked for a towel to cover up because he “felt incredibly exposed,” even though he knew he was anything but. In full, Farrell noted, “It gave me such surreal discomfort, which was strange because, at the end of the day, it was just makeup. It was so discomforting that I had to ask for a towel in between takes to cover me… That was kind of the strange psychological no man’s land that you could find yourself in when you’re the canvas to something as powerful as the makeup designed for it.”
Would he have felt that way without his phony phallus? Maybe. Maybe not. Unless he returns for a second season and films another nude scene without one on we will never know. What we do know is we’ve already thought about the Penguin’s penis too much already.
Originally published on September 23, 2024.