TV|Actors

Every Actor Who's Played (Or Voiced) The Penguin, Ranked

Ranker Entertainment
Updated September 15, 2024 17 items
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2.7K votes
810 voters

Holy flightless bird, Batman. As one of DC's most notorious supervillains, the Penguin is a fancy force to be reckoned with. First appearing in Detective Comics #58 in 1941, Oswald Cobblepot has been terrifying Gotham's residents for decades. Often portrayed as a short, portly, and often vile-looking villain, the Penguin's trademark top hat and monocle have become synonymous with supervillainy (much to the chagrin of the Monopoly Man). Sure, an umbrella may not rank that high on the list of the coolest weapons in the DC Universe, but look past the seemingly harmless design and you'll see that ol' Ozwald has a few tricks up his cufflinks. But of the actors who have played The Penguin, which one brings Cobblepot to life the best?

Easily one of the more recognizable villains, it's no surprise the Penguin often ranked among the Best Comic Book Villains Of All Time. As the first actor to don the top hat, Burgess Meredith made the Penguin famous in the original 1960's Batman series, and Danny DeVito breathed new life into the criminal mastermind in Tim Burton's Batman Returns. There have been more than a dozen different actors to play (or voice) the Penguin over the years, but who do you think really captured the role?

Vote up all your favorite Penguin actors, and vote down the awful adaptations you'd prefer to see waddle back to the Iceberg Lounge.