With Colin Farrell taking over the role as the Penguin and no doubt on his way to becoming the “definitive” version for a younger generation, he reflected on some of the other quintessential performances throughout the Batman franchise. And like so many of us, he put Heath Ledger’s Joker at number one.
When asked which performance in any Batman movie was his favorite, Colin Farrell replied, “I mean, Heath. Heath takes it, you know.” That’s about as good of a pick as you can have, as Ledger’s Joker is widely considered one of the best performances in any comic book movie, even earning him one of the few posthumous acting Oscars ever given. Colin Farrell has a pretty special professional connection to Heath Ledger, too, stepping in (alongside Johnny Depp and Jude Law) to fill in for Ledger on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus following his tragic 2008 death, which occurred just one month after filming commenced.
But Colin Farrell didn’t stop there, going on to cite another Joker performer within the core Batman universe. “I mean, I don’t want to sit on the fence, but I’ve enjoyed so many of them. I love Jack [Nicholson] as well as the Joker.” He also added that most Batman characters – hero or villain – can be performed in a multitude of ways. “And these characters of lore are so well-designed initially that they just withstand. It was like, Christian Bale was asked a question, I saw once, about the new Batman that was coming and about Robert [Pattinson] playing Batman, and Christian said something along the lines of, and I paraphrase, that these characters, they survive and they invite multiple interpretations.”
Colin Farrell isn’t the only Penguin to have given his take on a similar matter, as Danny DeVito – who of course played Oswald Cobbelpot in 1992’s Batman Returns – previously said that he chooses his own interpretation of the character as the best one. That’s not exactly as humbling of a route that Farrell might have taken, but, really, who can argue with that? While Farrell is wearing the character – and the fat suit that comes along with it – well, DeVito’s unique spin on the Penguin may just be unmatched in the Batman universe. I’d personally put DeVito and Ledger at the top of best Batman performances.
After delays caused by last year’s simultaneous WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, The Penguin will debut on Max in late 2024.
How would you rank the top three Batman movie performances? Give us your list in the comments section below!