The Penguin is premiering on HBO and Max, and will expand upon the story and world of The Batman (2022) movie. In The Penguin, viewers (whether they watched The Batman or not) will get deep into the mind and machinations of Oswald “Oz” Cobb, a mid-level gangster in Gotham City’s infamous Falcone Crime Syndicate, who runs the drug trade of the narcotic known as “drops.” The events of The Batman have left Gotham City’s poorer neighborhoods in ruins, and mob boss Carmine Falcone dead. Oz is just one of several gangsters looking to seize more power in Carmine’s absence. The only problem is that Oz has a major rival in Carmine’s daughter Sofia Falcone, who comes home from years imprisoned in Arkham Hospital, looking for the inheritance she feels is due.
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At the time of its premiere, The Penguin is already receiving higher critical praise than The Batman, with some already putting it on the same top tiers as HBO’s other famous mob drama series The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire. A lot of the praise for Penguin has come via the performances of the principal cast – talented character actors who are likely about to get a whole lot more famous.
The Penguin Cast Explained: Who Are The Actors?
Colin Farrell is Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb (Penguin)
The actor starring as Oswald “Oz” Cobb is Oscar nominee Colin Farrell, the Irish actor best known for films like Minority Report, Daredevil (2003), In Bruges, Total Recall (2012), and most recently the Oscar-nominated film The Banshees of Inisherin, which earned Farrell his second Golden Globe, after In Bruges (both films he made with writer/director Martin McDonagh).
Farrell played Oz in a supporting role in The Batman, earning so much acclaim that Warner Bros. and The Batman director Matt Reeves deemed him worthy of carrying his own spinoff series. Farrell is all but unrecognizable, wearing extensive layers of makeup and body prosthetics to transform into Oz.
Colin Farrell is
Cristin Milioti is Sofia Falcone (The Hangman)
Sofia Falcone is played by Cristin Milioti, a character actress best known for playing the titular mother in the final season of How I Met Your Mother. Milioti has had notable roles in The Wolf of Wall Street (playing Jordan Belfort’s first wife, Teresa Petrillo), Fargo Season 2, 30 Rock, Netflix’s Black Mirror, Marvel’s Hit-Monkey, The Venture Bros. (as “Night Nurse Cindy”), the time-loop dramedy Palm Springs, and the TV limited series The Resort.
Ironically enough, one of Milioti’s earliest bit roles was making several appearances on HBO’s The Sopranos, where she played Catherine Sacrimoni, the daughter of New York mob boss Johnny Sacrimoni. In that sense, playing Sofia Falcone in The Penguin is a full-circle moment for Milioti.
As The Penguin begins, Sofia is released from Arkham after being locked up for years for a string of serial killings that earned her the nickname “The Hangman.” She returns looking to make sure her family’s criminal interests stay in the family.
Rhenzy Feliz is Victor Aguilar
Oz Cobb’s sidekick in crime is Victor Aguilar, who is played by Dominican-American actor Rhenzy Feliz. Feliz is best known for his starring role in Marvel’s Runaways TV series on Hulu, where he played genius Alex Wilder for the show’s two-season run (2017-2019). Simultaneously with his Runaways breakout, Feliz had a recurring role as Aaron in Season 6 of MTV’s Teen Wolf and also voiced the character of Camilo Madrigal in Disney’s animated film Encanto (2021).
When The Penguin begins, Victor is a kid living in the ruins of Gotham’s streets, who is brought under Penguin’s wing and aids in his bid to seize power.
Clancy Brown is Sal Maroni
Clancy Brown is one of the most popular character actors working today – screen roles or voice roles in pretty much every franchise that’s out there. He’s been Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants; “The Harbinger” in John Wick 4; a governor (Ryder Azadi), Inquisitor, Convict, and Darth Maul’s brother in various Star Wars projects; Waylon Jeffcoat in Showtime’s Billions; Lyndon B. Johnson in Netflix’s The Crown, and is the iconic voice of Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series and many other DC animated projects. To name but a few of his screen credits…
Salvatore Maroni’s arrest played a pivotal part in The Batman’s story – but the gangster himself was only briefly glimpsed in TV footage. In The Penguin, Maroni is still in jail, but in him, Oz sees new opportunity to partner against the Falcones. Unfortunately, Oz was also key in helping Carmine Falcone set Maroni up for his great fall, so there’s some ugly history to put aside, first.
Deirdre O’Connell is Francis Cobb
Oz Cobb’s mother Francis Cobb is played by Deirdre O’Connell, a character actress with a long list of roles. She played Foggy Nelson’s mother Anna Nelson in the Marvel-Netflix Daredevil series; Athena Bailey in the hit drama series The Affair; Patricia Tillerson in Amazon’s Outer Range; with bit roles in Nurse Jackie, The Closer, Law & Order, Law & Order Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: SVU, HBO’s Six Feet Under and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
In The Penguin, Francis Cobb is aging and has limited control of her mental facilities – but it’s clear from trailers that she has a formative influence over Oz’s career as a gangster.
Michael Zegen is Alberto Falcone
Michael Zegen plays Alberto Falcone, the son of Carmine Falcone and brother of Sofia Falcone. Like his onscreen sister Cristin Milioti, Zegan ironically got an early opportunity to play a “partygoer” in an episode of The Sopranos. That led to a major role as “Damien Keefe” in Dennis Leary and FX’s Rescue Me TV series, and then some years working with HBO on the Millenials dramedy How to Make It in America, and the mob drama Boardwalk Empire, where he played a recurring role as infamous 20th century gangster Ben “Bugsy” Siegel. Zegen has also had a small arc on AMC’s The Walking Dead, and starred as the estranged husband of the titular Marvelous Mrs. Maisel during the hit Amazon series’ run.
When The Penguin begins, Alberto Falcone is another player vying to takeover his late father’s empire.
Michael Kelly is Johnny Viti
Michael Kelly plays Johnny Viti, the underboss of the Falcone Crime Syndicate. Kelly is a longtime character actor best known for his role as Washington fixer “Doug Stamper” in Netflix’s House of Cards. Other notable roles include playing “CJ” in Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake; a role in the sports biopic Invincible starring Mark Wahlberg; playing Daily Planet reporter Steve Lombard in Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel and more recently playing the pivotal role as a liaison between Transformers and G.I. Joe in the button scene for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
When The Penguin starts, Johnny Viiti is in a precarious position in the line of mob succession, trying flaunt his years of experience as underboss, while Carmine Falcone’s blood relatives all come staking a claim.
Carmen Ejogo is Eve Karlo
Carmen Ejogo plays “Eve Karlo” in The Penguin and is best known for her roles in horror-thriller films like Alien: Covenant, It Comes at Night, Alex Cross (2012), and The Purge: Anarchy, as well as Oscar-worthy biopics like Roman J. Israel Esq. and Selma. A lot of fans will also recognize her as the President of the Wizarding World, Seraphina Picquery, introduced in the Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
In The Penguin, Eve Karlo is a lady of the night who has a long-standing relationship with Oz Cobb. DC fans have noted that “Karlo” is the last name of classic Batman villain Basil Karlo, aka the original Clayface.
The Penguin airs on HBO and streams on Max.
