If you didn’t know Michael Zegen as the slightly obnoxious husband turned redeemable ex-husband in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, well, you probably know him now after watching The Penguin.
The 45-year-old actor branched out into the whirlwind world of superhero IP with the new DC limited series about the legacy Batman foe, the heir to the Falcone empire following his dad’s unglamorous ending at the hands of Riddler in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
Who is Alberto Falcone in The Penguin and DC Comics?
If you’ve seen the first episode of The Penguin, which premiered Sept. 19 on Max, you know Zegen isn’t given a whole lot to do with his character on the show. He’s killed in the first thirty minutes by the titular baddie for mocking not just his history, but also his aspirations, and then presented to his sister chopped in bits. Not great.
However, before all that, we find out Alberto is an avid partygoer and club attendee who struggles with alcohol and substance abuse, and is trying to stay sober now that he’s got a chance to take over Dad’s empire. Oz takes advantage of his weakness and it only takes a couple of pushes before Alberto caves and agrees to have a drink, eventually leading, of course, to more drug use.
In the comics, Alberto is similarly maladjusted and the outcast of his family. His intelligence puts him on a different path than his siblings, and although he does his best to impress his father and join the family business, Carmine keeps him at bay, hoping he’ll carve out a better, more legitimate life for himself. These good intentions don’t translate for Alberto who, instead, becomes blind with jealousy and turns into the Holiday Killer — a serial killer that targets gangsters and only kills on holidays.
Where you’ve seen Michael Zegen before
Zegen has quite the CV. Though Mrs. Maisel is his lengthiest and most famous project, earning him a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the show’s ensemble, the actor has been in multiple big-name television shows.
In the early days of his screen career, Zegen had a recurring role in the FX firefighter dramedy Rescue Me as Probationary Firefighter Damian Keefe, followed by a stint in the critically acclaimed Boardwalk Empire where he played Jewish gangster Benjamin Siegel, appearing in season 2, 3, and 5. The New Jersey native also made appearances in The Walking Dead and Girls. Outside of television, the actor was part of movies like Frances Ha starring Greta Gerwig, The Seagull with Annette Bening and Saoirse Ronan, and The Stand In opposite Drew Barrymore.
His role in The Penguin might have been small compared to this catalog, but it was still an instant “Yes!” from Zegen who jumped at the opportunity to share a scene with Colin Farrell. “I was aware of his fate. The bottom line is I got to do this really cool 10-page scene with Colin Farrell, so I was happy. It was really special, he was incredible,” he told Business Insider, adding “I didn’t mind that I got killed! It was a good death scene! I got killed by Penguin, come on.” That’s fair enough, but we would have loved to see more of Zegen in the show — a Falcone origins spin-off anyone?
Published: Sep 20, 2024 01:14 pm