As of this writing, it’s been four months since The Penguin concluded its run on HBO, and something I still can’t get over from the finale is the tragic fate that befell Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor Aguilar. Despite staying loyal to Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb for the entirety of their time together, the enemy of Robert Pattinson’s Batman strangled the young man to death simply because he considered Oz like family. Not only was it a haunting moment for people watching The Penguin live or streaming afterwards with a Max subscription, it also came with a specific challenge for Feliz, though Farrell’s Oz look ended up helping him nail performing Vic’s demise.
CinemaBlend’s own Laura Hurley spoke with the actor during SCAD TVfest, and among the things she asked him was what he found the most challenging about performing his death scene in “A Great or Little Thing.” Feliz brought up how wanting to bring some extra authenticity to the scene ended up being more difficult for him than he anticipated:
For that scene specifically, the most challenging thing was breathing, I guess. Colin was being very gentle, to be honest, but still, I wanted it to feel to me like I was actually choking on the ground. I would hold my breath, and I would push my neck against his hand as hard as I could to feel it, so I got to start panicking. And then I literally had to gasp for air, so that part kind of sucked. We did it a few times, wasn't just one take, but we got it done. I think it looks like he's going through something. And I was! I really was. I was low on oxygen, so if it looks that way, it's because it was true.
We could have easily seen Oz simply shoot Vic or even stab him, but the strangulation added a personal touch, figuratively and literally, that made Vic’s death that much more uncomfortable to watch. Had Vic not told Oz how much he cared about him, he’d likely still be alive and helping The Penguin’s title character run his criminal empire. Instead, Oz felt like having family made him weak, so he killed his second-in-command to eliminate this personal connection… permanently. It’s almost like you could feel the life leaving Vic’s body, and Rhenzy Feliz went the extra mile to make it look authentic by going as far as was possible to make himself feel like he was actually being strangled.
Laura then asked Feliz if it was also easier to sell Vic’s death when the Golden Globe-winning Colin Farrell was wearing all that Oz Cobb costuming and makeup, and he confirmed that was indeed the case, saying:
For sure. I remember the first time I saw him for the camera test, I remember telling him, like, 'Man, I just can't stop looking at you.' And he told me, 'Use it.' Use that kind of intrigue and fear and whatever the thing is that you're feeling, try and let that live. So I tried looking at him as little as possible until we were actually shooting. In the first episode, you see Victor looks over a lot at Oz, and that's all just trying to get a read on this guy and who he is and what he looks like and all that kind of stuff.
Victor Aguilar might have had a bright ahead of him had he not gotten attached to Oz Cobb, but he did, and now his story’s done. Oz’s story, however, is nowhere near finishing. Not only is Colin Farrell expected to reprise the character in The Batman: Part II, but there’s been talk about The Penguin Season 2 happening, even though it was originally conceived as a limited series. So now Rhenzy Feliz gets to see what happens to this detestable and evil man like the rest of us: as a fan on the big screen and maybe even the small one too.
We’ll let you know if The Penguin Season 2 ends up being added to the official slate of upcoming DC TV shows. For now, The Batman: Part II is currently set on the upcoming DC movies schedule for October 1, 2027.
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