Colin Farrell wasn’t the first to rock that umbrella when he played The Penguin in The Batman. Let’s take a look back at the most famous actors to have brought Oswald Cobblepot to life.
The Penguin is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic comic book villains of all time. A well-known antagonist of Batman, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot made his comic book debut in the pages of DC Comics all the way back in 1941.
Known for his long nose, unique sense of fashion and penchant for umbrellas (and later, his flippers and dark sewer-based origins), the bewildering “bird-man” became one The Dark Knight’s most popular villains, and that popularity has seen him appear on-screen a number of times over the past 60 years. And he’s has just gone and done it again.
Colin Farrell is the most recent actor to take on the quacking supervillain, playing him in Matt Reeves’ reboot The Batman last year. A veteran of his craft, Farrell gave Robert Pattinson’s Batman all the hell you would expect of the character, but he isn’t the first (or the most famous) to bring The Penguin to life. Now, he is preparing to tackle the character again in the upcoming HBO Max spin-off The Penguin.
Nevertheless, there have been a lot of Penguins over the years. With that in mind, as we continued to celebrate Batman Day this month, let’s delve into Oswald’s colorful history and take a look back at the best and most famous actors to bring The Penguin to the screen.
Note: While there were multiple other actors to voice The Penguin on TV and in video games, this list will take a look at the seven most famous (and best) to do so.
7. Colin Farrell
Now please don’t mistake Colin Farrell’s placement at the bottom of this list as something to be sad about. In fact, the veteran performer delivered an incredible outing and is already miles ahead of the versions of Oswald Cobbleplot we unfortunately couldn’t include on this list. The only thing preventing us from putting him up higher is the fact that he just didn’t have all that much screen-time in The Batman to show us what we was truly capable of.
But from what he did show us, however, we liked what we saw. The star was unrecognizable in the role, but that didn’t stop him from showing us why he’s such an esteemed performer. A unique version of The Penguin from a live-action standpoint, he brought to life the more comic-accurate iteration, which saw “Ozzy” as a major figure in Gotham City’s criminal underworld.
The most exciting part of all of this is that The Batman portrayed the villain as something of an up and comer in the underworld, setting the stage perfectly for the character’s upcoming HBO Max TV series. And the brief moments in which Farrell’s Penguin was on-screen were moments of delight as the actor gave us an authentic portrayal of the smarmy criminal comic book fans are more more familiar with. But this is only the beginning.
We can only imagine what his headlining role in the upcoming HBO Max spinoff will look like. And it will no doubt take him much higher on this list.
6. Nolan North
Nolan North is a name commonly associated with many classic genre franchises. DC fans may know him best as the voice of Superboy on the critically-acclaimed animated series Young Justice, so it might be hard to believe that he also voiced The Penguin in the Batman: Arkham video game series. Yes, that Penguin.
The Arkham Penguin is a lot more intimidating than many of the other incarnations of the character. While he’s more of a mob boss like Farrell’s, he’s a far more vicious portrayal of the character that is more in control of things than The Batman‘s version. He’s feared a great deal, which is what makes his takeover in Batman: Arkham City all the more believable.
He isn’t a refined secret criminal like some of his more iconic adaptations, he wears his villainy like a badge of honor. He’s also foul-mouthed, direct and incredibly dangerous.
North’s performance also goes a long way in reinforcing this. This Penguin speaks with a cockney accent and possesses an incredibly sinister sense of humor – something that seemingly comes to North effortlessly. It’s a natural performance but also a very memorable one, so it’s no surprise that he reprised the role in animated spinoff movie Batman: Assault on Arkham.
5. Tom Kenny
Tom Kenny has voiced The Penguin a number of times in two large-scale projects – the most recent being the English dub of Japanese animated movie Batman Ninja. However, he also voiced the character from 2004 until 2008 in animated series The Batman and its feature film The Batman vs. Dracula.
Without a doubt the most underrated of all the Penguin portrayals, this iteration of the character was a young, arrogant socialite who returned to Gotham City to restore the Cobblepot family name. He was rather small with orange hair and sported the largest top hat you’ll ever see in your life. However, he was also very agile and an incredibly skilled fighter, having picked up a number of skills during his tour of the Orient.
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Kenny was incredibly lively as “Ozzy”, bringing his larger-than-life personality to life with a loud, in-your-face performance that just felt so in-line what we knew about this version of the character. In a stroke of genius, he essentially roared every line – a trait that just captured the essence of the villain’s complete lack of tact – and his appropriately annoying cackle is nothing short of perfection.
The Batman doesn’t get enough credit and its version of The Penguin is a shining example of that. One of the most unique and unusual interpretations of Oswald, Kenny’s performance is among the best.
4. Robin Lord Taylor
Robin Lord Taylor may have only been the third actor to portray The Penguin in a live-action film/series, but he had to follow in some pretty incredible footsteps. And yet, he delivered… with ease.
Portraying the character on all five seasons of Fox’s Batman prequel Gotham, the young actor was tasked with giving us a look into the origins of the famous criminal. In doing so, he wasted no time making the role his own.
While the unique writing certainly set him apart from previous adaptations, there was something infectious about the way that Taylor portrayed the character that made it impossible to hate him. Though he was a sympathetic character in the beginning, he quickly became one of the most vile and evil villains on the whole show, and yet we, as viewers, wanted to root for him – he was even, dare we say it, likable.
Over the course of five seasons, Oswald evolved from a subservient, well, servant for Fish Mooney to the King of Gotham, before finally becoming the legendary Penguin that we knew and loved. It was an enticing character journey that was one of the show’s most compelling – and one that was ultimately brought to life by Taylor’s delicious performance.
A new take on a classic tale, Taylor has undoubtedly earned his spot among the greatest Penguins of all time and, given all that have come before him, that is a testament to the strength of his ability as a performer.
There will always be a special place in this writer’s heart for his Oswald… old friend.
3. Paul Williams
Paul Williams’ turn as The Penguin came in the early ’90s when he voiced the character in Batman: The Animated Series and its subsequent spin-off sequel The New Batman Adventures – and like with everything in the legendary DC Animated Universe, it was a portrayal for the ages.
Though the original Animated Series design was visually inspired by Tim Burton’s Gothic reinvention (he was smaller, with long hair that was balding at the top and even had flippers), there was a refined elegance about him more akin to the Oswald Cobblepots of the comics.
A hopeful socialite desperate to be recognized and welcomed by society, he was very well-spoken and had the most charming of voices. That was, of course, down to Paul Williams’ voice performance, as he spoke in almost a seductive tone that made viewers want to hear more from him – and that was very effective in making the character sound like the wealthy socialite he wanted to be.
The character was physically redesigned for the sequel series in 1997, adopting an appearance more in-line with his classic comic book look – as his long hair was shortened and his flippers were replaced with (in the words of Danny DeVito’s Penguin) “five chubby digits” – and he now owned the corrupt Iceberg Lounge. Having achieved his dream of being a well-respected socialite, it was only fitting that Williams returned to reprise the role – nailing it all over again.
2. Burgess Meredith
If you’re looking for the most comic-accurate portrayal of The Penguin, then look no further than Burgess Meredith’s unforgettable turn in the 1966 Batman TV series and its big-screen spin-off Batman: The Movie.
With his tall purple hat, classy style, monocle and umbrella, Meredith’s Penguin looked like he had just stepped off the pages of a DC comic book at the time and onto both the small and big screens. However, it was his performance that made the character the household name that he is today.
Make no mistake about it, Meredith was a highly-esteemed actor with a long history of stage work in Shakespeare and Beckett plays, but he didn’t let that stop him from throwing himself into the colorful and campy world of Batman ’66 to bring The Penguin to life.
Committing to the role in a way that he had done in his more serious offerings, he hammed up every line of dialogue with delicious villainy, squawked out every exclamation with passion and gleefully quacked every time that something was going the villain’s way.
These aren’t things that can be written into a comic book or, in this case, a script; they ‘re eccentricities that Meredith added to the character through his performance – eccentricities that have inspired every single version of The Penguin since.
By far, the defining version of the character – Meredith’s performance made The Penguin a legend. And to say that it stands the test of time would be a major understatement.
The role would, however, be redefined in the early ’90s…
1. Danny DeVito
In what was undoubtedly one of the most genius casting choices in Hollywood history, Tim Burton cast Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot in his 1992 sequel Batman Returns. On the surface, it may have been an obvious choice because DeVito’s comedic brilliance would have complemented a traditionally comedic role like The Penguin – but this was far from the traditional Penguin, and that’s what made it so brilliant.
As Burton had a lot more creative control over this one than he did with 1989’s Batman, he reinvented the character’s origins and ultimately delivered something that was much more in-line with what you’d expect from a Tim Burton villain. As a result, the mob boss villain that just so happened to contain bird-like features and waddled and quacked just because he could became something a lot more sinister.
Abandoned by his parents, this version of Oswald was raised by the penguins, the outcasts and misfits of the Gotham City circus while in the sewers. Though he had the long nose, the monocle and the sense of fashion, he also long stringy hair, Gothic black eyes and flipper-like fingers.
In spite of DeVito’s penchant for comedy, he was nothing short of terrifying as The Penguin, turning what could have been perceived as a cartoonish character into a mesmerizing and powerful monster. Moreover, he commanded the screen with his larger-than-life personality and even managed to weave sinister undertones into the occasional comedic moments.
A show-stealing performance if there were ever one, this was a Penguin for a new generation – one that would inspire countless versions of the character to come after it.
Which Penguin was your favorite? Were you a fan of The Batman‘s version of the character? How have you been celebrating Batman Day month?