The Batman: "I love Colin Farrell but my Penguin was better than his," says Hollywood legend Danny DeVito

The legion of The Batman villains is a powerful one but only a handful of them have ruled the roost on the silver screen. While The Joker enjoys the most amount of infamy in this regard, thanks to the stellar portrayal of the character by the likes of Heath Ledger and Joaquin Pheonix, the supervillainy of The Penguin has its own share of fandom. And with a number of acclaimed actors trying their hand at the role over the years, each rendition has managed to acquire its own cult.

Legendary actor-director Danny DeVito’s stab at The Penguin in Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns is one such classic example. DeVito's twisted spin on the iconic comic book character is still regarded as something ahead of its time as he successfully blended manic humour with a sense of queerness.

Interestingly, Danny DeVito expressed reluctance at the beginning to take on the role of The Penguin but eventually agreed when his close friend and fellow actor Jack Nicholson convinced him.

And since then, DeVito hasn’t looked back and seems to have only grown fonder of his performance! In a recent gig with Vanity Fair, the veteran artist was hooked to a lie detector test with his daughter Lucy DeVito sitting across the table to put forth rivetting questions. During the course, Danny DeVito would be shown a picture of Colin Farrell and asked what he felt about the latter’s portrayal of The Penguin.

“Oh, Colin. I love Colin. He’s a terrific guy. My Penguin was better,” came the swift response from the 77-year-old actor as he drew a burst of laughter from his daughter Lucy. To substantiate his answer, DeVito would confirm with the polygraph examiner and ask, “Was that the truth? It most certainly was”.

In the same session, Danny DeVitor would assert that Michael Keaton's version of The Batman/Bruce Wayne is the best.

Colin Farrell played the part of The Penguin or Oswald Cobblepot in Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman with Robert Pattinson slipping into the caped crusader’s avatar.