Heading Into THE PENGUIN Finale, Rhenzy Feliz’s Victor is on The Dark Side of the Gotham Streets

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede “They’re gonna tell stories about us one day, kid. Our names are gonna live together.” Those hopeful words were uttered by Oz “Penguin” Cobb, played by Colin Farrell, to his driver and neophyte right-hand man Victor, played by Rhenzy Feliz, in HBO’s THE PENGUIN. And yes, lots of stories are already being told about Oz and Victor heading into the season finale, which airs Sunday, Nov. 10 on Crave (where the previous seven episodes are available for catch-up now). But names can “live together” for many different reasons, and not all of them are good. As viewers have seen repeatedly in THE PENGUIN, getting close to Oz, or trusting his motives and methods, can be a mixed blessing at best. The OSCAR®-nominated Farrell, of course, is a well-known entity in the acting world, as is Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia Falcone. But this is truly a breakout performance by the 27-year-old Feliz, whose take on the lost, lonely, and increasingly complicit Victor has garnered widespread praise. “The part that Victor isn’t necessarily thinking about is that he’s just happy to be part of something,” Feliz said. “When we first found him, there was a lack of purpose in his life. Oz is a larger-than-life personality, and what they’re involved in is bigger than both of them. It’s something to live for. Sure, there’s the motivating factor of money, and the allure of power, and sort of a growing confidence in this world. But I think underlying all of that for Victor is a deeper feeling of just being included.” So if Oz had been a banker instead of a gangster, Victor might have happily settled into a job as a teller? “I think you could be right,” Feliz said with a laugh. “Although the finance world might have pushed Victor to get the first ticket to California. The fact is, Victor likes Oz. He’s exciting. He’s funny. He’s the most fun guy in any room he walks into. And Victor can sense that Oz likes him being around, too. Oz makes Victor feel a little bit special – you know, ‘this is a big, bad guy, but he’s nice to me.’ ” Well, not always. And Victor is not oblivious to the danger of being associated with the continuously double-dealing Oz. Victor has had opportunities to get out and run far away, and he almost took them, but to this point has decided to stay. Whether he will regret those choices remains to be seen. The relationship between Oz and Victor has to be believable and genuine, otherwise THE PENGUIN just wouldn’t fly. So what was it like for Feliz to work so closely with Farrell? “When it came down to doing the scenes, it was really more fun than anything,” said Feliz, whose innocent face is in direct contrast to Farrell’s heavy makeup as Oz. “I felt really lucky because I think there was an innate kind of chemistry between me and him, and you don’t get that every time. We got along really well. We were able to bounce off each other, because I think we work in similar ways. I got to explore, and as an actor, that’s all you want to do is kind of get on camera and find things, and find the truth, and find those honest moments, or whatever it is – you know, all these actor words. But Colin is so present all the time, and he’s so great in the show. Just to get to work opposite him was really an honour.” THE PENGUIN has managed to appeal to a wide audience, with different elements appealing to different people, but Feliz acknowledged the show has become darker with each episode. Not to spoil anything, but last weekend’s episode certainly maintained that theory, as it revealed some shocking information about Oz’s origin story. “Yeah, and there’s a lot coming forward,” Feliz said. “I mean, I found the first few episodes to be kind of comedic in certain moments, but as the show goes on, it just gets darker, and we kind of lose those moments of funny, and get to watch Victor put in really difficult situations. I sort of see him as a good kid. But he has to pick. He has to make hard decisions about what his future is going to look like, and who he wants to protect. Victor is at a crossroads. What kind of life does he want to live, and who does he want to be?” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv