How I Met Your Mother star Cristin Milioti has been killing it as Sofia Falcone in The Penguin, and this is her first comic book role after multiple artsy parts in series like Black Mirror and Palm Springs.
As it turns out, Milioti has actually tried very hard over the years to get into the superhero genre, but she just hasn’t been having any luck until the Batman spinoff started coming around.
Cristin Milioti on Landing Sofia Falcone
In a recent interview with SHOWSHA, Milioti talked about wanting to land a superhero role ever since she was a kid. She says, “It’s like a dream of a lifetime. I’ve dreamt of being, not just a villain, but like a Batman villain since I was so small, since I started watching movies. I’d auditioned for a lot of superhero stuff, and nobody was really biting, but looking back on those—everything happens for a reason. I felt so connected to this character and all those other opportunities that I’ve been up for, they weren’t as good of a fit.”
Milioti didn’t really emphasize which superhero characters she auditioned for, but she did say that she was pretty impressed with the actresses who did manage to nab the roles that she could have gotten.
Milioti’s Villainous Turn
No doubt Milioti’s most famous role is that of the infamous ‘Mother’ in the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, but the part of Sofia is one of her first major villain roles.
Before that, Milioti has usually played victim to abusive men like in her role in Black Mirror and HBO’s Made for Love, but she’s also managed to pull off some very dramatic parts like in Mythic Quest and the very trippy Palm Springs. Her episode of 30 Rock is also pretty memorable:
Going back to the role of Sofia, she pretty much functions as the Michael Corleone of the Falcone family, in that she’s back to take over her father’s business after he passes away. Fans have only seen her for one episode, but unlike her brother, Sofia is shown to be more calculating, and she’s definitely had her eye on Oz before he started doing his power play. Not to mention she’s unforgivably ruthless.
What’s really interesting about the series is that it’s essentially pitting two cinematic gangster characters Godfather’s Michael Corleone (Sofia) and The Sopranos’ Tony Soprano (Oz) against each other in the fight to be the head of Gotham’s biggest crime family.
Sofia may have just been a minor character from the comics, but the role is definitely beefed up in the series to make this version a take that Milioti can truly make her own.
The Penguin Reception
So far, the series has been getting fantastic reviews, and the showrunners are definitely leaning more into the crime drama genre as compared to comics. Colin Farrell absolutely disappears into the role of Oz, and Milioti makes for a fascinating villain who doesn’t have to wear spandex or a mask.
Catch new episodes of The Penguin every Sunday night on Max.
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