The Dark Knight Actor Praises Colin Farrell's Penguin In The Batman
The Dark Knight actor David Dastmalchian has expressed high praise for Colin Farrell's portrayal of the Penguin in The Batman. The Batman is the latest live-action interpretation of the Caped Crusader to hit the big screen. The film, which is helmed by Cloverfield director Matt Reeves and stars Robert Pattinson as Batman, is the first story to take place in Gotham which does not take place within the DCEU since Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy ended back in 2012. The Batman follows the World's Greatest Detective in his second year of crimefighting as he tracks down a mysterious new serial killer known as the Riddler. Since its release in early March, The Batman has received very high praise from both fans and critics, and has continued to grow in success.
Perhaps most shocking is the fact that some fans have even begun to suggest that The Batman may be superior to The Dark Knight. Until now, the 2008 film has been considered the gold standard for Batman films, and it has been suggested that the darker tone of most modern superhero films have all stemmed from the success of the Nolan film. However, with the release of The Batman, it seems that The Dark Knight finally has some competition, particularly in the villain department. While Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning portrayal of the Joker has become a classic of cinema, both Farrell's portrayal of the Penguin as well as Paul Dano's haunting interpretation of the Riddler have given fans cause to wonder which film has the scariest villains.
In a recent interview with Looper, actor Dastmalchian, who himself played one of the Joker's creepier henchmen in The Dark Knight, has given high praise for Farrell's Penguin portrayal. Simply put, Dastmalchian thought Farrell's acting "was amazing." While Dastmalchian admitted that he thought overall the casting for The Batman was spot on, he has confirmed that for him, Farrell was the stand-out performance, calling him "the sleeper surprise of that film." See his full quote below:
"I thought it was amazing. I loved it. I thought it was so beautiful and powerful. I thought all of the casting exceeded my already high expectations. I think that Colin Farrell was the sleeper surprise of that film. I thought his portrayal of the Penguin really brought a life and energy into a movie that was so incredible."
This is certainly high praise for Farrell's Penguin, as Dastmalchian himself is no stranger to creepy or bizarre characters. Along with his portrayal of one of Joker's henchmen in The Dark Knight, Dastmalchian was also the Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad as well as the spooky Piter de Vries in Denis Villeneuve's Dune. Dastmalchian is certainly right that Farrell's performance in the film was definitely scene stealing, particularly as the actor managed to make the character as threatening as he needed to be, while also sympathetic during the Penguin's smaller redemption arc which he goes through closer to the end of The Batman.
Ultimately, The Batman seems to be slowly taking the mantle as the Batman film to beat. It is certainly a good sign for the film if even actors from The Dark Knight are coming forward to praise the film for its excellence. Of course, in the end, it all comes down to taste for viewers, and some will prefer Nolan's more realist take on the character to Reeves' more gothic Batman. The only thing audiences can do now is get out to see The Batman to find out for themselves where it stands in their ranking.
Source: Looper