The Penguin star Colin Farrell recently became the third actor to win a Golden Globe award for playing a comic book villain. Coincidentally, the other two recipients of the rare honor — Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix — also won for playing a Batman villain.
Following his win for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or a Motion Picture Made for Television, Farrell was asked in the 82nd Golden Globe Awards press room about joining the small circle of actors who have earned a Golden Globe for playing comic book villains. The actor was flattered to be mentioned alongside Ledger and Phoenix, both of whom would go on to win Oscars for their respective turns as Batman’s archnemesis, The Joker.
“You mentioned two actors who are, I think, for my money, two of the most extraordinarily talented and gifted and just brilliant artists in films that I’ve ever had the fortune to observe and be affected by,” he stated. “What Heath did in Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight was extraordinary, and will will live on for future generations. And what Joaquin did with the Joker was . . . exemplified by all the awards that he won, in the Oscars. It was extraordinary.”
Farrell continued, “It was so special, both of them. So to have your name just uttered in the same sentence as those performances, honestly, it’s lovely, but still I’m more of just a fan of it all! I don’t feel like I’m part of that pantheon. Jaoquin and Heath, just two extraordinary and honest great actors.”
Watch Farrell’s Golden Globes statement (via Deadline) below:
What’s next for Colin Farrell’s The Penguin following Golden Globes win?
Farrell’s Oz Cobb/Penguin will appear next in Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II. There is also a strong chance that The Penguin will get renewed for a second season. In December 2024, Reeves addressed the possibility of another season of the HBO/Max series, stating, “Yeah, we’re talking to [showrunner] Lauren [LeFranc] about doing another season. That was a special experience. I just feel really fortunate. These characters don’t belong to me; they belong to the world. It comes down to whether you can approach them in a way that expresses something personal.”
The Penguin is streaming on Max.
