By Lexi Stewart
"I don't think I've ever stood in front of someone in makeup like that and forgotten it was makeup. I believed that makeup completely." - Naomi Donne, The Batman Makeup Department Head.
Jump To Section
- A Monumental Prosthetic Makeup Challenge
- Achieving Matt Reeves' Vision for the Penguin
- The Penguin Makeup Design Sculpture
- Running the Penguin Makeup in Silicone
- Reworking the Penguin Makeup & Body Suit
- Batman Dreams Do Come True
Every three or four years since most of us can remember, there's been another Batman movie. Each director brings a distinctive style to DC's dark knight. We've seen the characters in Batman's world delivered as comedic camp, gothic fantasy, phantasmagoria, polished urban modernity, and moody modern noir. What next for the caped crusader?
Matt Reeves' 'The Batman' delivers the crime-fighting classic we know and love, but handled with a contemporary realism that is both appropriate and representative of our current times. The film distinguishes itself as a dark detective story with grit and moral ambiguity. The look of the film is reminiscent of other Matt Reeves projects such as Cloverfield and the Planet of the Apes trilogy.
(Colin Farrell in full Penguin makeup and wardrobe in The Batman. Image courtesy Warner Bros.)
A MONUMENTAL PROSTHETIC MAKEUP CHALLENGE
One of the most significant achievements required by the filmmakers was to transform handsome, dashing Colin Farrell into the loathsome, lumpy Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a The Penguin. Reeves knew the character would require a special effects master to aid in the metamorphosis. He needed an artist to deliver an iconic villain and yet keep the character grounded in reality. Prosthetic Renaissance Owner Mike Marino was the ideal man for the job; best known for his impactful and naturalistic prosthetic work on many film and TV projects, including Coming to America 2, Black Swan, Joker, The Irishman and True Detective.
Makeup designer Naomi Donne (known for Cruella & Spectre) headed up the film's makeup department, but it was Marino who took on the daunting task of the Penguin makeup. He and Donne had worked together many times previously. Their professional relationship started on Synecdoche, New York, Marino's first job tackling age makeups. From that point on, Donne and Marino made an effort to try and do projects together.
Marino noted, "I wasn't in touch with Colin Farrell, but I did work with him 10 years ago." When Marino was informed of Farrell's casting, his first thought was how much the actor did NOT look like the Penguin. He wondered what Reeves had in mind, but he never doubted Farrell's ability to pull of whatever he and Reeves would come up with. "I know what an incredible actor he is, and I know what he can offer. Colin is one of the most versatile actors out there. He's so talented and has this explosive quality."
(Colin Farrell before and after his Penguin transformation for The Batman. Penguin image courtesy Warner Bros.)
ACHIEVING MATT REEVES' VISION FOR THE PENGUIN
Marino and Reeves initially talked on the phone for hours discussing movies and inspiration for The Penguin. The Godfather came up in conversation a lot as Reeves wanted the Oswald character to have a similar vibe to John Cazale's 'Fredo.'
"Reeves wanted The Penguin to have a little bit of that Fredo pathos," said Marino. "Fredo is pretty much a loser. He always tries, but he never tries enough. Even though he's in this successful family, they can't really give him any responsibility."
"Oswald is also someone who has gangster affiliation, but he's bumbling. I thought that John Cazale's face had qualities that made that character work for what that was." When Marino began sculpting, he aimed to add that 'Fredo' likeness into the face. He also referenced other gangster influences such as Capone and Scarface.
At first, Reeves hoped Farrell would keep the extra weight he had gained for the film The North Water. However, Farrell had a different plan. Marino recalled, "He told me he was unhealthy and wanted to lose all the weight. There was no way he was keeping it." As a result, Marino knew he would have to develop the look for his whole body.
While Naomi Donne was channeling Kurt Cobain to create a haunted look for Robert Pattinson as the eponymous Batman, Marino was googling kingpins and bird beaks. He said, "I looked at pictures of penguins. I looked at bird beaks--parrots, eagles--and there are some really cool photos of birds with broken beaks, chipped up and scarred."
"There was one interesting photograph of a penguin with really slanted eyebrows, and they were all black and white hairs. I mimicked that shape in the design of the eyebrows." Keen viewers will notice that in extreme profile, Farrell's nose mimics the shape of a beak. Marino also added white hair to the eyebrows. "It's a black-and-white contrast. You barely see it, but it's in there. All of that combined helped create a character."
"One thing that Stan Winston was always about was bringing a character to life." Mike continued, "It's not makeup; it's a character. So I really had that in my head, and I always try to push for that."
THE PENGUIN MAKEUP DESIGN SCULPTURE
Though filmed in the UK, testing took place at the Warner Bros. Studio in Los Angeles. When Marino revealed his sculpture, it was the first time the filmmakers got to see the complete design. Marino sculpted onto a life cast of Farrell, and dressed it up a little with a bowtie and monocle for effect. "I sent that to Matt, and at first he said, 'What am I looking at? Is this like a reference? What is this?' I said, 'No, that's Colin!'" he laughed.
"Reeves freaked out, saying, 'Oh my God, is this possible? Can you do this on him? Is this gonna move?' I said, 'Don't worry, it will look super-real. He'll have full expression. We'll test it, and if it doesn't look good, we'll just throw it out the window and start over with something more subtle.'"
(Mike Marino's sculpture of the Penguin makeup on a lifecast of Colin Farrell. Image courtesy Mike Marino/Warner Bros.)
(Three-quarter views of Mike Marino's sculpture of the Penguin makeup. Images courtesy Mike Marino/Warner Bros.)
The initial test team consisted of Mike Fontaine, Crystal Jurado, Sasha Camacho, Claire Flewin, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, and a wardrobe team for clothing. Sasha Camacho made the hairpiece, and Jaime Leigh McIntosh helped cut the piece to ensure it was the right length.
Marino explained, "It took approximately four hours, and we were just playing around. Once we glued the makeup on, you could see Colin's expression. He was like, 'okay, this is cool.' Then he started doing all this stuff and using his voice, and by the end, he was in full character."
With both the director's and actor's approval, Warner Brothers and DC signed off on it immediately. Only minor tweaks were required after that point. "I got really lucky because the approval process is usually much longer. It was none of that, which was incredible," said Marino.
RUNNING THE PENGUIN MAKEUP IN SILICONE
The Penguin pieces were made of platinum silicone, mostly PlatSil Gel-25, in different levels of softness. The makeup consisted of a nose, cheeks, and a neck that wrapped around to the back. Marino said, "It was a collapsible mold, but I left the back open, so I could move it around and bring it in tighter if I needed to." Completing the look was a chin, an upper lip with nose connected, and a brow piece.
(The Penguin prosthetic makeup mold making process underway at Prosthetic Renaissance. Image courtesy Mike Marino/Warner Bros.)
One of Marino's clever and innovative techniques involved varying the density of the silicone in the nose area. "In the mold, we made a denser cartilage-like silicone in the center, and on the outside borders, it was totally soft. Once the Baldiez was sprayed in the mold, the thicker silicone was laid strategically in this area. Often, if the nose is soft as one material, it changes shape and stretches, and it doesn't look like a nose anymore. It just looks like this weird shape. So I varied that in certain areas." With these enhancements in place, the prosthetic piece moved naturally once glued on.
Almost all of Farrell's face is covered in prosthetics, except for his forehead. Marino did not need to age the forehead as Farrell's natural skin could work for the character. "He's in his early forties, and Oswald wasn't really old, so I didn't need it. I ended the piece right on the brow ridge and then tied it into his own forehead."
When working with Philip Seymour Hoffman years ago, Marino convinced the actor to shave his head to make the wig application more manageable. Hoffman agreed immediately so he wouldn't have to sit in the makeup chair longer each day. For The Batman, Marino convinced Farrell to do the same. "Colin shaved half of his head, like St. Francis, you know?" said Marino. "He had to walk around town with a hat on all the time because he looked like a monk, but it worked out good because I had Sasha make a toupee hairpiece to mimic where his hairline started. It was just a top piece, and sides combed into his own hair."
(Sasha Camacho's hand-tied hairpiece that was glued to Farrell's shaved head to achieve the Penguin's receding hairline. Image courtesy Mike Marino/Warner Bros.)
(The hand-tied penguin-inspired eyebrows that would help complete the Penguin's look. Image courtesy Mike Marino/Warner Bros.)
REWORKING THE PENGUIN MAKEUP & BODY SUIT
While The Batman was filming, the world was in the midst of the COVID pandemic. It was, in fact, one of the only movies in production at the time. Filming continued for a while, but when Robert Pattinson received a positive COVID test result, the show shut down for a couple of months. The crew dispersed back to their homes, and Colin Farrell returned to Los Angeles. With little else to keep him busy, Farrell jumped on his treadmill and exercise bike and promptly lost 30 pounds.
As Marino recalled it, "I got in touch saying, 'Dude, what are you doing?' He goes, 'I can't keep this weight on.' He had already slimmed down, but there was still more weight he wanted to lose. He said, 'I can't help it. I'm stuck here. I have to do something.' He was exercising pretty hardcore. So I flew to his place with the piece to try on."
After Farrell's weight loss, Marino thought that the makeup now looked like a deflated penguin. The neck and suit overlapped nearly four inches in the back. Stressed but determined, Marino told the production he would need to remake everything. "I lifecast him again at his house. I went back to my studio. I glued on the makeup to the lifecast. And then I mimicked it side by side. I measured it, and we remade everything. We went to London to fit it on him, and it worked great, but now [his body] had to be bigger too."
(Colin Farrell in the reworked Penguin makeup. Image courtesy Mike Marino/Warner Bros.)
"All the weight that he lost, we had to add back on. It was a little bit of a stressful situation, but you can't tell the difference in the resculpt. I was very careful to measure everything, every line, crease, etc." In the end, Marino had to duplicate the pieces and remake the molds before going back to London to start filming again. Claire Flewin made some adjustments to the suit, and Jacqueline Durran made minor stitching adjustments. It remained the same suit but with tweaks.
Marino proclaims that Farrell was a true professional in the prosthetics. Though Marino has the distinction of having worked with many, many actors over the years, referring to Farrell, he said, "To be honest, I've never seen anybody do what he did in that makeup. Between him and Eddie Murphy, they're just the best people in makeup that I've ever seen. He would go in the mirror and do things, make expressions, and see what worked for him. It doesn't look strange when he's laughing and opening his mouth really wide; it looks really mobile."
(Colin Farrell demonstrates the realistic expressiveness of the Penguin makeup. Image courtesy Warner Bros.)
(Colin Farrell in full makeup, body suit and wardrobe as the Penguin. Image courtesy Warner Bros.)
Reeves' enthusiasm for makeup effects, and Farrell's willingness to try something radical and out of character made for a perfect collaboration. Marino said, "Matt had worked with some prosthetics in the past. I mean, he knows everything about makeup effects. He knows about Stan Winston. He knows about Rick Baker. He knows about everybody. I don't think that he ever worked with it to this extent, but I think he felt confident enough and utilized it to the best of his ability."
(Colin Farrell in full Penguin Makeup. Image courtesy Warner Bros.)
BATMAN DREAMS DO COME TRUE
The Batman seems to have been a dream come true for Marino, following in the footsteps of Stan Winston, who created Danny DeVito's iconic Penguin makeup for Batman Returns. "I'm a huge Batman fan," he confessed, "I have thousands and thousands of comic books. I'm like a super nerd, and it's every boy's dream to do Batman. I was a huge Adam West fan for the original series. I know all the characters in the show, and I have all the comics, especially the Frank Miller stuff."
If you look closely at the end of the film, you'll also notice another DC character being introduced briefly. Marino also designed this makeup. We won't spoil it here, but it's safe to say the excitement is already brewing for the next installment.
The makeups for The Batman have garnered much attention since the film's release. Marino said he was just glad that the makeup effects world is winning people over again. "I'm glad to be able to help push all of us as a community into something that is getting recognition and respect. I think it'll be helpful for all of us in the special effects world."
PROSTHETIC RENAISSANCE 'THE PENGUIN' TEAM CREDITS
Mike Marino - Prosthetic Design - The Penguin and Unseen Arkham Prisoner
Mike Fontaine - Key Prosthetic Makeup Artist
Yoichi "Art" Sakamoto - Character Dental Prosthetic Makeup
Prosthetic Makeup Artists
Goran Lundstrom
Sasha Camacho Van Dyke (Wig Design)
Claire Flewin (Body Suit Design)
David Malinowski
Crystal Jurado
Arturo Balsiero
Trent Taft
Xander Forterie
Lucie Snow
Susie Redfern
Izzi Galindo
Olivia Legun
Angie White
Lisa Lustman