After months of being highly-anticipated by DC fans, The Batman has finally arrived in theaters and is set to entertain viewers with its scintillating characters — including Colin Farrell‘s unique portrayal of the Gothan city villain, Penguin.

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The Irish actor notably sustained a fascinating transformation. He was altered to such an extent that it often becomes hard to decipher Farell’s handsome features hiding under his eerie and deformed appearance as the Penguin. While speaking with Total Film, Farrell revealed that his initial reaction was one of shock upon first seeing makeup artist Mike Marino’s digital blueprint for the infamous Batman villain in Matt Reeves’ office.

“He got his computer and opened the fucking thing and he showed me the face on a bust that Marino had cut into, and it was still clay, still brown, and wasn’t coloured at all. And I just looked and thought, ‘That’s going to be me?’ That was the first time that I knew that I was going to be totally submerged beneath a poundage of makeup.”

Farrell further shared how he felt “like being a kid in a sandbox” after a variety of prosthetic pieces, ranging from molded teeth to the bald head Penguin has. Though he faced difficulties while trying to maneuver with the prosthetics on, he reveled in the freedom the surprising functional and authentic makeup gave him.

I have not had this much unbridled fun with something. It was such a blast, man. I felt somewhat untouchable in it. You get such a license to have absolute freedom of motion and expression and articulation of thought and feeling. It was really, really cool. I had no idea what I was going to do without that makeup. And then when I saw the makeup, everything was clear, the way the character moved the way he sounded.

For Farrell, Marino is nothing short of an absolute genius as he succeeded in creating a fitting look for the actor that is enough to let viewers know Penguin’s history. It’s a face that is “so caught up and so pockmarked” that it will stir up pity in the viewers. While he also looks terrifying and dangerous, “there’s also something that’s almost sympathetic to it as well.”

Catch Farrell’s unbelievable transformation in The Batman, now in theaters.