The Penguin: "Violence Towards Women" One Reason Turturro Passed

Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: the batman, The Penguin

The Penguin: "Violence Towards Women" One Reason John Turturro Passed

John Turturro shared that "violence towards women" was one of the reasons he passed on returning as Carmine Falcone for HBO's The Penguin.

Published Thu, 24 Oct 2024 08:39:11 -0500
by Tom Chang
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One of the major differences between Matt Reeves' The Batman in 2022 and the Lauren LeFranc spinoff series The Penguin is the recasting of crime boss Carmine Falcone, originally played by John Turturro in the film, but recast with Mark Strong in the role, largely in flashbacks given the character's fate in the Reeves' film. While promoting his work on Pedro Almodovar's The Room Next Door, the actor spoke with Variety about why he decided to turn down reprising the Falcone patriarch.

The Batman Star John Turturro Felt the Level of Violence Toward Women in The Penguin "Wasn't His Thing"

Not that there had to be any dramatic transition from Strong to Turturro since Turturro told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that Carmine's signature sunglasses were his "mask." On why Turturro turned out The Penguin, "I did what I wanted to with the role," he told Variety. "In the show, there was a lot of violence towards women, and that's not my thing."

LeFranc has worked on several TV hits since her debut in the 2008 NBC series My Own Worst Enemy and Chuck. She also worked on the Netflix horror series Hemlock Grove and YouTube's Impsule. Before landing The Penguin, LeFranc worked on the Marvel ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first three seasons. As far as the difference between The Batman and The Penguin, Turturro was more comfortable because Carmine's cruelty "happens off-screen. It's scarier that way." He also resigned, saying, "You can't do everything you want" when managing his time with opportunities.

In The Penguin, Carmine largely served as exposition to his daughter Sofia Gigante, formerly Falcone, played by Cristin Milioti in the HBO series. His cruelty, which extended throughout his family, orchestrated the framing of Sophia for her father's multiple murders and resulted in her getting locked up at Arkham Asylum for 10 years. Following Carmine's death in The Batman at the hands of The Riddler (Paul Dano), Sofia emerges back in Gotham in The Penguin, still having to deal with being the family's shame. Rather than being ushered back to Italy, Sofia took revenge at the family's home, killing all but two as she orchestrated her takeover and renounced the Falcone name in favor of her late mother's last name "Gigante" in the third and fourth episodes "Cent'Anni" and "Homecoming."

For more on Turturro talking about his career, you can check out the entire interview. The Penguin, which also stars Colin Farrell, Rhenzy Feliz, Diedre O'Connell, and Clancy Brown, airs on Sundays on HBO and streams on Max.

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