Colin Farrell made plenty of headlines for his incredible transformation into Batman’s foe, Penguin, in The Batman. Farrell’s Penguin is unique in that he has neither the long nose for which the character is known nor the iconic hat. But how good is Farell as Penguin, compared to other live-action and voice actors who have portrayed Oswald Cobblepot?
The Gotham villain made his debut in Detective Comics #58 back in 1941 and since then has gone on to be portrayed by 35 different actors in various live-action and animated projects. Among the many individuals who have brought the character to life, a few did it better than the rest, according to Ranker.
Steven Blum – Lego Batman: The Movie — DC Super Heroes Unite (2013)
Blum is one of few actors who’ve voiced both Marvel and DC characters as he has been Wolverine too multiple times. He earned himself a spot on the Guinness World Records too in 2012 for having the most voice-acting credits in video games.
Interestingly. Blum’s Penguin hardly has any character development as he only appears in a few scenes and operates as part of a team comprising Harley Quinn, Joker, Riddler, and Two-Face. Given Blum’s potential, not making his character the main villain feels like a waste but he is still able to come up with some memorable one-liners.
David Odgen Stiers – Batman: Mystery Of The Batwoman (2003)
The legendary actor voiced multiple Disney characters over the years. His role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester in M*A*S*H also brought him plenty of recognition.
The Penguin portrayed by Stiers is more of a menace since he is not only a Gotham villain but also an international arms smuggler. Additionally, he has some of the best Batman villains, including Bane and Rupert Thorne, on his payroll. Fans thus get to see a Penguin that’s too powerful for Batman, forcing him to rely on Batwoman to deal with the threat.
Tom Kenny – The Batman (2004–08)
Kenny is best known for voicing the titular character in Spongebob Squarepants. The role has earned him two Annie Awards and two Daytime Emmy Awards.
Kenny’s Penguin is a younger one as he is said to be in his 20s. There are a number of parallels between him ad Bruce Wayne too, including the fact that they are both billionaires. As such, Penguin considers Bruce Wayne his true rival and not Batman. Traditionally, Penguin has never been a good fighter but this version happens to be a skilled martial artist too.
Wayne Knight – Harley Quinn (2019–present)
Fans of Seinfield can easily recognize Knight thanks to his role as Newman. The actor has also appeared in numerous other movies and TV shows over the years.
Since Batman isn’t the star of the show, Knight’s Penguin only appears as a supporting character in the first two seasons. Ordinarily, the character isn’t known to pledge his allegiance to any organization but here, he is a founding member of the Legion of Doom as well as the Injustice League. Regrettably, he gets murdered by Quinn.
Norlan North – Batman: Arkham (2009–present)
North made a name for himself as Dr. Chris Ramsey on the ABC show Port Charles but decided to focus on voice acting after the show ended. He has since voiced characters such as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted video game series and Desmond Miles in the Assassin’s Creed.
Among the things that make the Arkham video games so impressive is the wealth of storylines. As one of the major antagonists, Penguin is at the center of many schemes. Conquering him is no easy task either since some of his associates include Deathstroke, Solomon Grundy, Black Mask, and Deadshot.
Paul Williams – Batman: The Animated Series (1992–95)
Williams is better known as a composer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has served as the President of the American songwriting society ASCAP.
Willaims’ Penguin is of sane mind, compared to other Batman villains. As such, he normally gets locked up at the Stonegate Penitentiary instead of the Arkham Assylum where most of Gotham’s notorious baddies end up. Interestingly, his origin is never explored either and as such, his motivations remain a mystery.
Colin Farrell – The Batman (2022)
A household name, Farrell has been a common face in blockbusters since the late ’90s. He is also set to continue playing Penguin in an upcoming HBO Max series.
Farrel’s Penguin is a rare version of the character since he isn’t his own man yet. He works for mob boss Carmine Falcone, and while this has happened a couple of times in the comics, it rarely does in animated and live-action projects. His relationship with Batman is shown to be less soiled too since the Caped Crusader doesn’t actively seek to bring him down, instead of focusing on his boss.
Burgess Meredith – Batman (1966)
Burgess had a career that spanned 6 decades. He frequently alternated between movies and TV shows. Thanks to his good work, he received many accolades, including 2 Oscar nominations.
The first-ever live-action Penguin is a lot wealthier than his counterparts. Apart from beautiful villas, he has a customized submarine, enabling him to be more in touch with water like actual penguins. He has his own Pengymobile too and in addition to illegal business dealings, he makes forays into Hollywood by founding a movie studio.
Danny DeVito – Batman Returns (1992)
A veteran actor, DeVito currently plays Frank Reynolds on the sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He is also the co-founder of Jersey Films.
DeVito’s Penguin is a much more fleshed-out character, Most of his background story is provided, including the fact that he grew up in the zoo, and that his parents abandoned him because he was deformed. And instead of just committing crimes, he has political ambitions., He ends up running for Mayor but Batman stops him by ruining his reputation.
Robin Lord Taylor – Gotham (2014–19)
Thanks to Taylor’s performance, Taylor ranks highly among the best villains in Gotham. Recently, the actor has impressed as Will Bettelheim in the Netflix series, You.
Since Bruce Wayne is still fairly young in the series, Taylor’s Penguin is pitted against Jim Gordon. Fans of the character will appreciate this version since there’s more growth and less strategy, Over the course of the series, Penguin rises from Fish Mooney’s henchman to the Mayor of Gotham.
