In 2003, Colin Farrell portrayed the villain Bullseye in the comic book film Daredevil, which starred Ben Affleck in the title role as a blind lawyer who is also a vigilante superhero. Farrell showed that he could play a tough, charismatic villain who's hard to beat, and gives Daredevil a couple of good battles. Farrell's upcoming role as Oswald Cobblepot will be different from Bullseye but is likely an inspiration because Oswald may also have tricks up his sleeve against Batman, another heroic vigilante with fear.
Daredevil had a mixed to negative critical reception but was very successful at the box office, especially for a February release. Before the MCU and The Batman, this feature came out when superhero movies, including Marvel comic book film adaptations, were becoming more popular. Alongside Daredevil, there was Ang Lee's Hulk, the Blade pictures with Wesley Snipes, the first few films in the X-Men and Spider-Man series, and others that involved conflicted heroes and villains with supernatural abilities. Daredevil may not be as innovative as some later MCU and DC films (such as The Avengers and The Dark Knight Trilogy), but it is a gritty comic book feature with cool characters and appealing action set pieces.
Colin Farrell Can Play Strong Villains
During the early 2000s, Colin Farrell became a rising star after his performance in the war drama Tigerland, directed by the late filmmaker Joel Schumacher. After that, he portrayed a good tough cop in the police action film S.W.A.T. and an arrogant publicist who's held hostage by a mysterious gunman in Phone Booth (also directed by Schumacher). In S.W.A.T. and Phone Booth, Farrell displays his charisma and his physical intensity as a leading man in the thriller genre. In Daredevil, Farrell was given the opportunity to portray a villain who is deadly and sinister, further displaying his versatility as an actor.
Bullseye doesn't have as much depth or screen time as Daredevil, but Farrell gives his villainous character life by making him darkly funny and highly dangerous. Bullseye's early scenes perfectly show the assassin's killing methods, as well as his precise accuracy. For instance, the villain's intro scene involves him taking down a man in a pub after winning a bet in which he shoots all the darts on the bullseye of a dartboard while looking away and drinking a glass of beer. Bullseye kills the man in the pub by shooting parts of a paper clip to his throat.
In another scene, while Bullseye is listening to music during a flight, he gets instantly annoyed by an elderly woman sitting next to him who keeps on talking and doesn't stop. Bullseye ends up killing the lady by flicking a peanut into her throat, causing her to choke. Bullseye is aroused as he watches the woman die, displaying his psychopathic behavior when it comes to killing people.
What makes Farrell great in the role of a villainous hitman is that he doesn't take himself too seriously (except for his near-perfect aim) and casually makes Bullseye both comical and deadly at the same time. Farrell rarely plays villains, but when he does, he rises to the occasion, from Percival Graves in the first Fantastic Beasts feature to an assassin in the Jessica Chastain action thriller Ava. Farrell not only portrays villains who want to take down heroic protagonists, but he plays bad men who intend to control everything and everyone around them by protecting their own interests and self-worth.
Bullseye Is The Perfect Match For Daredevil And Elektra
Farrell's portrayal of Bullseye also proves his worth against the two heroes of the film. Aside from using small, sharp, and pointy objects to eliminate his targets, his hand-to-hand fight sequences with Daredevil and Elektra highlight Bullseye's strength in physical combat. When fighting Elektra, Bullseye looks like a magician with his long black leather jacket, especially when he pulls out an Ace of Spades playing card (also known as the Death Card), using it on the heroine to slightly cut her throat. Bullseye has the advantage over Elektra because he's the more accurate and experienced fighter.
Bullseye also has his moments against Daredevil because he has the ability to move fast and can hit the blind superhero with any object he can get his hands on. He also figures out Daredevil's weakness: incredibly loud noise. This is foreshadowed in an earlier scene when Bullseye tells Wilson Fisk/Kingpin that he can kill Daredevil (supposedly a man without fear) by putting the fear in him (which is the hero's inability to sustain loud noise and sounds).
Daredevil inevitably beats Bullseye due to his fighting skills and his incredible sense of sound, especially when he hears a bullet from a police sniper coming towards him, and using that momentum to wound Bullseye's hands. But before that, Bullseye shows that he is a powerful assassin who was so close to defeating the film's heroes.
How Bullseye Could Influence Farrell's Role As Penguin
Colin Farrell's role as Bullseye is very physical and charismatically menacing. His upcoming role as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin in The Batman perhaps won't be as physical in terms of fighting but will display class and villainy when coming up against the Caped Crusader. Oswald's screen time, according to Farrell, will be limited, but based on the trailers, Penguin appears mad and physically imposing like a major Don or crime boss thanks to the impressive prosthetics and makeup, making Farrell unrecognizable in the role.
While Bullseye is a hitman hired by the Kingpin to take down Daredevil, Oswald is a leader who will call the shots and order his own army to defeat Batman at all costs. However, like Bullseye, Oswald is also a killer who demands power, and Farrell will undoubtedly bring plenty of force and evil to the role of Penguin and give Batman some tough battles to fight.