Colin Farrell Was Not A Fan Of His Penguin Costume, But Would He Suit Up Again?

Actor Colin Farrell enjoyed his time playing Penguin for the upcoming HBO series, but in a new interview, he discussed the toll it took on him as an actor.

Total Film asked Farrell if he would be up for Penguin Season 2, and the actor replied, “I don’t know, man.” Getting into the makeup and prosthetics was a taxing experience, he said. Farrell said Penguin series creator Lauren LeFranc asked him if he would be up for playing Penguin again, if she could find a way “that makes sense.” Farrell replied by saying he would consider it–but it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

“I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And maybe in a year I would. But when I finished I was like, ‘I never want to put that f**king suit and that f**king head on again.'”

These comments sound similar to what Daniel Craig said about coming back to play James Bond. Immediately after finishing Spectre, Craig was asked about coming back, and he said he would rather slash his wrists. However, he later clarified that what he meant was that he didn’t want to return right away. He made those controversial comments two days after wrapping Spectre. Of course, Craig did come back for one more Bond movie in No Time To Die. Whether or not Farrell suits up again as Penguin remains to be seen, however.

“Don’t get me wrong–I loved it–but it got in on me a little bit. By the end of it, I was bitching and moaning to anyone who would listen to me that I f**king wanted it to be finished. I tried to remind them that I had ‘grumpy gratitude.’ I was still grateful, and still honored–I grew up watching Burgess Meredith [who played the role in the ’60s TV series], and then Danny DeVito [in Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns] was my Penguin–so being a part of the lineage of that storytelling, I really did feel privileged,” he said.

The Penguin debuts on September 19, featuring Farrell in the title role. Michael Kelly also stars in the series as Johnny Vitti, alongside Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nadia Maroni, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, James Madio as Milos Grapa, Scott Cohen as Luca Falcone, Michael Zegen as Alberto Falcone, Theo Rossi as Julian Rush, and Carmen Ejogo as Eve Karlo.

Farrell has said The Penguin is “really dark and really heavy.” The Oscar-nominated actor also said the show is “incredibly violent” and “really twisted.” Robert Pattinson will not show up in The Penguin, not as Bruce Wayne or Batman. Fans will have to wait until 2026 to see Pattinson back as Batman in The Batman II.