Colin Farrell's son was "horrified" by his transformation into the Penguin.

Colin Farrell takes on a very different look for the movie

Colin Farrell takes on a very different look for the movie

The 45-year-old actor - who has James Padgraig, 18, with ex Kim Bordenave and Henry Tadeusz, 12, with ex Alicja Bachleda-Curus - plays the iconic DC Comics villain opposite Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves' upcoming movie 'The Batman', and he admitted seeing him in character caused quite a shock.

He told 'Extra': "The first time we did it… we took six to eight hours just putting in the teeth for the first time, the wig, the bodysuit, the whole thing and it was really powerful.

“I just sparked my imagination and continued to every day that I went to work. I just felt like I had such license to inhabit a character in a way I had never been given…

"When my kid saw me for the first time, he was utterly horrified. I have it on iPhone. He was horrified.”

Meanwhile, his co-star John Turturro - who plays Carmine Falcone in the movie - admitted he was stunned by the transformation too.

He said: "I, too, did not recognize Colin and when I did talk to Colin up close, it was sort of an out-of-body experience…

"I know Colin as an actor. He reminded me of people that I knew in real life, actually that look like that — and particularly his ears.”

Colin joked the character's ear hair was actually his own, before noting his version of the Penguin sees him at an "earlier stage in his career than we’re used to seeing him".

He notes the villain "has great expectations" but hasn't yet hit the level "he wants to be at".

Describing his alter ego as "very grounded", he added: "Matt Reeves… wanted everything to be relatable, to be kind of recognizable in this physical world we share, whether it’s the level of corruption or the degree of violence that’s prevalent in Gotham.”