We are approaching the finish line HBO’s The penguinthe limited series spinoff to Matt Reeves Batman. Each week, as we learn more about Gotham’s underworld and the villains who inhabit it, we also delve deeper into the side characters who influence the main cast, like Oz Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) mother Francis (Deirdre O’Connell). What makes Oz such a great character is how complicated he is; not only is he reckless and stingy, but he is also awkward, insecure and needs reassurance from his mother.

We get to know Francis a little all the time The penguinand while she may have a limited role, O’Connell’s performance does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to explaining why Oz is the way he is. I had the pleasure of catching up with the actress at New York Comic Con earlier this month, where I asked her about who inspired her portraits. It is not difficult to find similarities between Francis and Tony Soprano’s mother Livia from Sopranosbut O’Connell looked to another fictional mother for this role.

O’Connell said she channeled her friend and mentor, the late actress Geraldine Page, for her performance in The penguinespecially her character in the 1984 crime film The Pope of Greenwich Village. She recalled one scene that spoke to her, calling it a “touchstone” for her while filming The penguin:

“At one point she says – she’s a cop mom so she’s not a gangster’s mom but she’s in a gangster’s world – she’s talking to these cops after her child dies and she says something like ‘My son was strong as a steel bar and he didn’t get it from his father.'”

Watch our conversation with O’Connell on our TikTok page here.

The Pope of Greenwich Villagedirected by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Daryl Hannah and Jack Kehoe alongside Page, follows two cousins ​​who, in a desperate bid to make money, pull off a heist. What they don’t realize is that they have just robbed a powerful gangster. Page’s role as Mrs. Ritter earned her an Academy Award nomination.

When comparing Francis with Livia from Sopranosexplained O’Connell an important difference: Francis “doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her ever.” The actress said she pushed back against her character, looking for pity, because she didn’t feel like she should behave that way.

O’Connell was aware of potential comparisons with Sopranos character, especially after watching the recently released HBO documentary Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos. “‘Oh, did I copy that?'” O’Connell recalled asking herself before realizing that no, she was going after Mrs. Ritter.

There are three episodes left The penguin and we’re sure to see Francis pop up again as the series comes to a close. Don’t miss the sixth episode, “Gold Summit,” this Sunday, October 27 on HBO and Max. We will be view episode here at Winter is coming so please come back with us.

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