Colin Farrell opened up about his difficulties playing Batman character The Penguin and admitted he is shallow and insecure during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
The 32nd series of the hit BBC talk show returns on Friday evening, with Colin sharing the red sofa with Lady Gaga, Demi Moore and musicians Jack Savoretti and Miles Kane.
Irish actor Colin, 48, who was a regular on the show, quickly felt at ease and told host Graham, 61, all about his experience filming Batman spin-off The Penguin, in which he plays the titular villain plays.
Colin said: ‘I ended up being a bit miserable and angry. I remembered how much Jim Carrey hated The Grinch’s makeup and while I didn’t reach that level, I did struggle with it, especially because the subject matter was so dark.”
He added: ‘It’s a huge relief now that it’s out and people think it’s good. If you’re shallow and insecure like me, you expect a slap in the face, so rubbing your back is definitely preferable!’
Colin Farrell opened up about his difficulties playing Batman character The Penguin (right) and admitted he is shallow and insecure during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show
Colin wore a fat suit for the role, facial deformities and a balding head of hair – a far cry from his slim, lush-haired self.
DC Studios miniseries The Penguin follows criminal Oswald “Oz” Cobb / The Penguin, former chief lieutenant of deceased crime boss Carmine Falcone, who is on his way to becoming a criminal leader himself.
The Penguin is a spin-off of the 2022 film The Batman, starring Robert Pattison as the titular hero.
Colin’s Penguin originated in this film, but was played by Danny DeVito.
The Batman is an origin story, so Penguin isn’t yet the crime kingpin he’s portrayed as in the comics, nor is Batman a skilled crime fighter yet.
Matt Reeves, the film’s director, compared the character of Penguin to Fredo Corleone (John Cazale) from The Godfather (1972), because of “the smallness in which he lives, in a family that is full of very strong, very smart, very capable, very violent men’.
In addition to Colin, How I Met Your Mother’s series stars Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Penguin boss Carmine.
The Penguin was first announced in 2021 and is set one week after the events of The Batman.
The series debuted on Max streaming on September 19 in the United States, and British viewers can watch it on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
Colin Farrell opened up about his difficulties playing Batman character The Penguin (right) and admitted he is shallow and insecure during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show
Colin said: ‘I ended up being a bit miserable and angry. I remembered how much Jim Carrey hated The Grinch’s makeup…I had a hard time with it, especially because the subject matter was so dark’ (pictured during filming in March 2023)
Also in Friday’s episode, Lady Gaga got dressed in character: She plays the Harley Quinn in Joaquin Phoenix’s The Joker in the upcoming musical film Joker: Folie à Deux
She formed an instant bond with Demi Moore’s dog micro-chihuahua Pilaf – who, like Demi, was making her Graham Norton debut – and accepted a kiss from her.
Comedian Richard Ayoade was on hand to promote his hilarious new fiction book The Unfinished Harauld Hughes
All were later treated to a performance by English-Italian acoustic singer Jack Savoretti (right) with Wirral’s Miles
Also on Friday’s episode of The Graham Norton Show, Lady Gaga got dressed in character: she plays the Harley Quinn in Joaquin Phoenix’s The Joker in the upcoming musical film Joker: Folie à Deux.
She formed an instant bond with Demi’s dog micro-chihuahua Pilaf – who, like Demi, was making her Graham Norton debut – and accepted a kiss from her.
Comedian Richard was there to promote his new fiction book The Unfinished Harauld Hughes.
All were later treated to a performance by English-Italian acoustic singer Jack with Wirral’s Miles.
The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One, Friday 27 September at 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.