Rhenzy Feliz Breaks Down 'The Penguin's Heartbreaking Finale (2025)

Editor's note: The following contains major spoilers for The Penguin.

The HBO series The Penguin has been an utterly compelling battle between Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) and Sofia (Cristin Milioti) vying for control of Gotham’s criminal underworld and betraying each other every chance they had along the way. Over the course of eight episodes, they dug into Oz’s childhood, the events that shaped his current path, and his relationship with his mother (Deirdre O’Connell), and followed Oz as he took Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), a teenager forced to survive any way he can, under his wing and turned him into a trusted ally before betraying him. And while it seemed as though Oz finally bested Sofia, there’s no real winner and no telling what could come next.

After watching the season finale, Collider got the opportunity to chat with Feliz about the heartbreaking fate of his character and how long he knew about where it would all end for him. During the interview, he talked about rooting for his character, what made his tragic ending so impactful, just wanting to do that moment justice when they shot it, the idea that Farrell came up with himself for that scene, and what might have become of him, if he’d had a different outcome.

Rhenzy Feliz Knew Victor's Entire Arc in 'The Penguin' From the Beginning

Collider: Did you know, from the beginning, what your character’s fate would be?

RHENZY FELIZ: Yeah, I knew right from the jump. The second I signed on to do it, I went and had a meeting with (showrunner) Lauren [LeFranc], and she explained to me, in broad strokes and the bigger picture, the entire arc of Victor, that he was going through his moment with Squid, and his relationship with Francis, as well as his ultimate ending in the show.

This is such a great character. At any point, did you try to convince them to change their minds?

FELIZ: Honestly, from the moment that I heard it, I just found it awesome. I would hope that it’s such a twist for people that it’s surprising. It’s a limited series, so you might as well have the biggest splash you can. [Lauren] explained to me, story wise, why she felt like it needed to happen. There is a turn that needs to be had with Oz. As an audience member, you’re rooting for him the entire time. At least, I found myself rooting for him when I was reading the script. And then, to see him, in the last 20 minutes of the show, make all these decisions where he makes a villain out of himself, as a story device, it works, but it’s also an emotional thing that you can give to an audience. It’s that shock factor of, “Wow, my goodness.” You keep people excited and keep people on their toes. Nobody’s safe, which is exciting too.

It’s such a hard moment because your character really is the thing that humanizes Oz throughout the season. Every time he does something, we think he can’t be that bad because he’s still being nice to this kid. Because of that, I did not see Victor’s end coming at all, even right up until the moment it happened. What was it like to actually read the script and to learn exactly what those details were? It’s one thing to know what’s going to happen, but then you get the script, and then you have to actually shoot it.

FELIZ: It was beautiful. You know exactly what’s gonna happen and you’re just hoping that the scene plays out in a way that you feel does the moment justice and that it lives up to this thing. And then, to read that scene and just how beautiful and how subtle it all felt, it didn’t feel overdone. It just felt soft, and that’s the way that I went into it. I was just like, “Breathe. Take a deep breath and live in this moment. You’re here. There’s this grief going through your system, but there’s also a sense of accomplishment and there’s also a sense of hope for the future. Just live in that.” And I thought that the writing was just gorgeous. It allowed us to take our time and to breathe in that scene. And then, for it to turn into what it turned into and for it to ramp up in that way so quickly, it was all there on the page. I thought it was genius.

What was it like to figure out the physicality and logistics of that moment? You’re at such an interesting angle when it happens because you can’t move or get away. How was that to shoot?

FELIZ: Oz is so much more powerful than him. Honestly, the idea of the hold came from Colin [Farrell], on the day. I don’t know how they had planned on doing it. The second we sat down and started to do the rehearsal, he was like, “I’m thinking I’ll just grab you like this, right here.” And I was like, “Yeah, I can’t see a way of me getting out of that.” It worked out, but that was Colin’s own idea, coming up with that one.

Rhenzy Feliz Is in Awe of What Colin Farrell Was Able To Do With Oz Cobb in 'The Penguin'

How was it to work with Colin Farrell throughout this? He’s a great actor, but at the same time, you’re looking at him completely transformed by this makeup, with a different physicality, and with a different voice. What was it like to have that to play off?

FELIZ: It was phenomenal. As an actor, what you wanna do is convince yourself that you’re in the situation. I’d probably be freaking out if I was acting opposite Colin Farrell, but my brain is telling me that it’s not, and that it’s this other thing, Oz. It was just helpful. It’s easier, as an actor, to get into the moment and into the scene. It was a little bit difficult for me to see just how incredible a job Colin was doing while I was there. I had a front row view for it all, but maybe it’s not so much as an audience member when you’re doing it, it’s more like you’re both playing together in the game. And so, to get to watch it now, as an audience member, I am in awe of what Colin was able to do. It’s annoying to me that I wasn’t able to notice it even more. I noticed it, but I’m annoyed that I couldn’t just sit there and have a little popcorn and watch it happen. Honestly, it’s awe-inspiring. It’s incredible, what he was able to accomplish.

Since this setting is as famous as some of the characters that inhabit it, what do you feel is the biggest allure to the world of Gotham?

FELIZ: At least in our world, we’re really in the thick of it. We’re really in the mud of what’s going on. Batman is up on top, looking down at it. We’re from down, looking up, and there’s opportunity for people. It’s hard for a lot of people because it’s a place that’s riddled with crime, but from Oz’s perspective, there’s a real opportunity to do something, to lunge for this power and to go for it. That’s what makes our story so interesting. What does that look like? What does a real battle of power for the underbelly of Gotham look like?

It’s such an interesting setting because it is something that’s been in so many movies and so many TV shows, and yet we still continue to see different sides of it and different angles of it.

FELIZ: Yeah. Even at the end of the show, it’s snowing in Gotham, and I don’t know if that’s happened before. Maybe that has happened in the Christopher Nolan films, with Bane in that real thick jacket. I can’t remember if it was snowing or not, but in ours, you really get to see it pouring down. It’s just a different view on Gotham than I can remember and recollect. It’s really exciting, the way that they’ve introduced it. Some of those panning shots in the 2022 Batman, it’s so different and it’s so cool. It feels like a New York, but like one that we don’t know because it’s Gotham.

Are you holding onto hope that, if there ever were to be another season of this show, maybe someone ran over and resuscitated Victor after he was left there?

FELIZ: I mean, I would love to be a part of any future things in this story. Although it’s a dark show, I had a great time. It was a great challenge, and I loved getting to make the show. Am I holding out hope for it? I don’t think so. I’ve got a good idea of what happened.

Would Victor Have Taken a Villain's Turn if He'd Had a Different Fate in 'The Penguin'?

If Oz hadn’t killed Victor, what do you think could have been next for him? Do you think that he would have become a villain? What do you think his future would have been?

FELIZ: That’s really interesting. I guess I haven’t thought about it because I’ve always ultimately known where his story ended. But thinking about it now, what would become of Victor’s life? In the immediate future, Oz would have given him more responsibility to handle things, and Victor would have. What does a human being who has a good heart turn into, months, years, or decades down the line? That’s actually really interesting. What does that look like? That’s a good question. I wonder.

The Penguin

TV-MA

Crime

Drama

It follows the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.

Release Date

September 19, 2024

Cast

Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O'Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

MAX

Showrunner

Lauren LeFranc

The Penguin airs on HBO and is available to stream on Max. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Max