Interview: Marié Botha Chats Playing Magpie in The Penguin, Harley Quinn Comparisons, Cristin Milioti Crush, and Renewed Hope For an Arkham Asylum Series

The Penguin‘s fourth episode, titled “Cent’Anni,” blew everyone away, as it’s been heralded as one of the best pieces of TV – full stop. Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone takes center stage as the episode explores her time in Arkham Asylum, where she meets notorious Batman villain, Magpie, played by Marié Botha.

Fortress of Solitude caught up with Botha to chat about the role and how comparisons have been made to Harley Quinn. The South African-born actor spoke about the preparation for the part and when she knew they had something special in their hands. In addition, she opened up about working with Milioti and why she thinks Barry Keoghan could be the next actor in line to win an Oscar for his role as the Joker.

Fortress of Solitude: I must be honest, when I first saw your character appear on The Penguin, I actually thought to myself: “Wait a second, is that Harley Quinn?” Have you had that reaction from other people? 

Marié Botha: [Smiles]. Yes, I have, and a lot of people are saying it online as well. It was the first time in my life, I read my first negative comment online that was like, “Well, Magpie is just a bootleg Harley Quinn.” And I was like, “Guys, I have feelings.” [Laughs]. But yeah, so I did draw some inspiration from Harley Quinn’s voice, as well as Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter a bit. Then just the vocal work – I got very extensive, wonderful training at drama school – and I got to really play with the directions that they gave. That it’s a very squeaky, high-pitched voice that drives Sofia insane, which contributes to the crux of the episode.

How much of The Penguin,  or even The Batman Universe, was shared with you before you received the script? Did you know what was going to happen on a larger scale or just for that episode?

I have no idea where the show is going now, which is nice, because I love the show and I’m fully drawn in. I’m actually heading to New York Comic Con now where they’re going to screen episode five, and I’m so excited. So they didn’t share much with me. I got the whole script for episode four, and I briefly read it, but the turnover was so quick and also the sites were encrypted, so they were only available to me for a short amount of time. I couldn’t really go back and look at the script and what they had done. So, yeah, it was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to viewers – except for my scenes, which I had seen and worked on in post.

The reason I ask is because there were plans for an Arkham Asylum series, set in Matt Reeves’ The Batman world. This episode feels like it could have been a part of that series, and I think this would have been quite an interesting offshoot to explore.

I wonder if this and the response to this episode is going to take that project back off the shelf. I kind of have a feeling that it might come back into development, or at least a different iteration of it. I mean, yesterday, we found out that this episode itself is the highest-rated TV episode of all time, which is insanely cool. So, yeah, I think that definitely this was a teaser and a taste, and definitely the sort of route that an Arkham series would go. I do think there’s also a fine line, because this was a very disturbing episode, and I wonder how much certain viewers can handle of that… Especially the intake with Sofia and then all the violence. I would love it. I’m a big horror, psychological thriller girl. I would love it. But, yeah, it remains to be seen.

What I love about your interpretation of Magpie is that this character can be seen as silly or over the top, but you played her in a slightly different way. You mentioned you received guidance for the voice, but did you only trust in the script to guide your performance or did you delve into finding out more about her from the comics and other interpretations?

I immediately ordered every single comic book featuring Magpie that I could find off eBay. I also ordered a Lego Batman that has a little Magpie figurine, so when I was working, I had her watching me. I drew a lot from the comics, and even though I have the three scenes that are at the tailend of her career and her life in this iteration, I used all of the history that I could find to inform the layers with which I played her. I just find that process very helpful – to have a lot of depth, meat, and nuance underneath – that helps you take that preparation and take the lines that you’re given and make them so much richer.

Magpie isn’t a new character in live-action DC projects. She appeared in Gotham and also the Batwoman TV show. Did you watch any of the other performances to see what other actors might have done differently?

Briefly, but then I knew that this Matt Reeves universe is so different from Gotham, Beware the Batman, and Batwoman. So I decided, yes, I’m going to watch them, but I’m not going to take much of that with me, because I’m going to make this version my own. Because Matt Reeves is making The Batman Universe his own. Batman played by Robert Pattinson is so different from the previous iterations. The Penguin’s so different. The Hangman’s so different. So I was like, cool, I kind of have a little bit of freedom here to find Marié’s Magpie.

While Colin Farrell is getting a lot of plaudits for his performance in The Penguin, and rightfully so, I must say that Cristin [Milioti] has stolen the show as Sofia. She’s been an absolute standout. What was it like sharing scenes with her?

She’s absolutely incredible to work with. She’s the nicest, most down-to-earth, coolest person. I kind of have a girl crush on her. [Laughs]. She came into hair and makeup in the mornings, we had a nice chat, very relaxed, ran our lines, and then once we got on set, she just clicked in, she dialed in, and she’s Sofia. Being in that presence with everything that she had developed and had brought up until we started shooting, it was almost like a vibration coming off of her that I just had to latch on to and go along for the ride.

Within that I had to trust that, okay, I’ve done my preparation. My character is three dimensional as well. So now let’s just play inside the space and be spontaneous and try things. And that was so cool. It’s not very often, at least early on in your career, where you get to work with someone who’s that experienced and who has done it so much, and you sort of feel safe to just play and listen to each other. It’s awesome.

As you mentioned before, “Cent’anni” is receiving rave reviews and being heralded as one of the best episodes of The Penguin. Having been fortunate enough to watch the entire series, I have to agree. When you were on set, did you ever get the feeling that you were creating something magical and all the frequencies were aligned?

Yes. I think it all started with the director, Helen Shaver, at the callback on Zoom. She’s an actor and director. She has this long silver hair. She’s very ethereal. And the way she directs, it makes you feel so held – pushed, but held – and she commands the space. So when we were in the Arkham Mess Hall, she had a chat with all of the background artists, discussing, “Okay, each and every one of you is a character. Even though you don’t have any lines, you’re a character, so create a backstory for yourself. Figure out who you are and why you’re here.” And that really made people dial in and create this atmosphere. 

It was a 55-person background artist group, then another 50-person crew and everything just worked like a song. It was so smooth and magical. And I think it was then, when everybody just worked in unison and everything just clicked, that I was like, “Okay, wow. This is something amazing. This is something special.”

You mentioned how you have read online comments. Do you get a kick out of reading some of the fan theories? For example, the latest one is how everyone is convinced Theo Rossi’s character, Julian Rush, is actually this universe’s Scarecrow.

Yeah, I love reading all of that. I have a little chuckle to myself about it. I love that some people are saying, “We think Magpie is dead. Maybe. Like, 99% sure.” And then, someone will come back and be like, “Dude, her skull was smashed. There was blood coming out of her head. She’s dead.” [Laughs]. I love that. I love how deep these fans get, the reaction videos they do, how they analyze who even Dr. Ventress is. They said, “Okay, well, he’s a combination of Mirror Man and Dr. Arkham and this person,” and then Julian Rush with Scarecrow, or this person, and a combo. And then they take out little Easter eggs. I’m fascinated by it. I think it’s so cool. I want to be a part of that. I want to know all of this stuff. [Laughs].

Speaking of Magpie’s death, no one in comics is ever really dead. Everybody gets resurrected at some point. Now, we know that The Penguin leads into The Batman Part 2. Apart from your character, which I’m sure you would love to reprise if offered the opportunity, are there any other villains you would love to see in The Batman Part 2?

Hmm… Let me think. That’s a very good question… I definitely want to see the Penguin again. I’m not sure if Colin’s going to come back. He is pretty sick of the suit – I think it’s what he said in an interview. The Joker, obviously. And I want Barry Keoghan to be the Joker, which I think he is. Did you see Saltburn?

Yes.

[A version like] that, which he probably will play, and layer that into the Joker. My goodness, we’re in for a treat. Really.

Yeah, I think it’s all but confirmed he’s the Joker after the deleted scene featuring him and Robert Pattinson’s Batman in Arkham was posted online. They also did sort of reveal his face and look. Looked pretty cool.

Yeah, and the Joker is also like a lucky character to play, because Heath [Ledger] posthumously won his Oscar for it. Joaquin [Phoenix] won his Oscar for it. And Barry Keoghan, I feel is well on his way to an Academy Award. So fingers crossed for him.

Now, just in terms of yourself, what else can you tell us that you have in the works? Is there anything you can share that we can look forward to seeing you in soon?

Yes, I just wrapped on an independent feature film, starring opposite Mickey Sumner from Snowpiercer and Josh Hamilton, who’s most known for The Walking Dead. So that was very cool working with them. That’ll come out next year. And then I am writing, creating, and producing my own little TV show, so I’m in very early stages for that, but you’ll definitely be hearing more on that soon.

Watch The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, and Marié Botha on Showmax and Max.

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