This week’s episode of The Penguin, titled “Top Hat,” is a flashback-heavy hour that goes all the way back to the 1980s to show just how Oswald Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) brothers, Jack and Benny, died. And in the process, we get to meet a younger version of the cast, including actor Ryder Allen, who plays Young Oswald Cobb.
Spoilers for The Penguin past this point, but in the episode we go back to 1988 (or so) and see how Young Oswald Cobb trapped his brothers in a water overflow tunnel, where they drowned to death during a rainstorm. It’s a harrowing sequence of events that shows how Oz has always been bad… He doesn’t even seem to be upset about killing his brothers, because that means he gets to spend more time with his mother, Francis (Emily Meade).
Also perhaps of note to continuity fans, while Young Oz has a club foot and brace — he was born that way, after all — he has yet to have his prominent facial scar. In fact, whatever happened that caused that seems entirely unrelated to the death of his brothers, as Young Oz is a fresh-faces sociopath right up until the end of the flashbacks.
With that in mind, you’re probably wondering about Ryder Allen, the young actor who perfectly channels Colin Farrell’s performance. Here’s what to know about him — and as a bonus, the rest of the flashback cast, as well.
Meet Ryder Allen, The Actor Who Plays Young Oswald Cobb
Ryder Allen was born on May 26, 2012, and is a native of California — meaning he was about 11 years old while filming The Penguin. And if you’re wondering where you’ve seen him before, it’s likely his one and only movie role: playing Sam in the Apple TV+ movie Palmer, opposite Justin Timberlake.
However, Ryder does have some experience playing a murdering brother… He previously portrayed Young Erik Menedez on an episode of the short-lived Law & Order: True Crime.
While he hasn’t shared any behind-the-scenes of his role on The Penguin as of this writing, he did note that he visited Palmer director while filming in NYC about 40 weeks ago on his Instagram, which likely lines up with when he was making the Gotham City-based show. You can join his 21.6k followers there.
Who Plays Young Francis Cobb On The Penguin? Meet Emily Meade
First of all, we’re likely not done with Young Francis… On IMDb, she’s listed as also appearing in Episode 8, aka the season finale, so stay tuned. That said, the 35-year-old New York City-based actress is well known to fans of HBO programming: she previously appeared as Sarah/Lori Madison on the porn drama The Deuce, and as Aimee on season 1 of The Leftovers, which was not a porn drama. She was also Pearl on two episodes of Boardwalk Empire.
Other TV appearances include Susan on the Prime Video remake of Dead Ringers, Maxanne on Broad City, and Ella Dunham on Fringe. Theatrically she’s appeared in a dozen films, including Money Monster and Gimme Shelter. You can join her 56.4k followers on Instagram, where she posted a very fun sequence of events from The Penguin after-party where she and her friends got kicked out of the Ozerati.
Who Plays Jack And Benny, Oswald’s Brothers On The Penguin?
Jack Cobb (Owen Asztalos) is the older brother; Benny Cobb (Nico Tirozzi) is the younger brother.
Owen Asztalos is probably best known at this point for playing Young J.D. Vance in Hillbilly Elegy, though some folks might know him as Rowley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. Curiously, he’s credited as Adam on IMDb, and not Jack — though I could be wrong, I think that’s a mistake. Regardless, Asztalos has had a pretty prolific career already including roles on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jessica Jones, and The Flight Attendant.
How about Nico Tirozzi? He’s also had a prolific career despite his young age. He appeared as 8-year-old Clint in Spirited, Young John B on Outer Banks, and Carruther’s Son in Monster Summer. Coming up he’ll play Ollie in Harvest Moon, opposite The Penguin co-star Carmen Ejogo and Paul Bettany, who co-wrote the screenplay.
Who Plays Rex Calabrese On The Penguin?
One bonus familiar face to round things out here. In a previous episode, Oz told the story of Rex Calabrese, the gangster his whole neighborhood adored. Turns out there’s one person who didn’t adore Rex: Oswald Cobb. In fact, Oz seems to hate the cigar-chomping made man with a passion, likely because he favors Jack and Benny (and perhaps because he’s secretly Oz’s father?).
Rex is played by Louis Cancelmi, who you might recognize from various projects similar to The Penguin. He starred in Billions as Victor Mateo, on Boardwalk Empire as Mike D’Angelo/Mike Malone, and two Martin Scorsese projects: The Irishman as Sally Bugs, and Killers of the Flower Moon as Kelsie Morrison. The Pittsburgh-born 46-year-old is a trained stage actor, and married to Elizabeth Waterson, the daughter of Sam Waterson.
Coming up he has a slew of projects including Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Frankenstein reinvention The Bride, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Christian Bale, and Mayday from Game Night directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, starring Ryan Reynolds, Maria Bakalova, and more.
Where To Watch The Penguin:
The Penguin Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The first episode of The Penguin premieres Thursday, September 19 at 9 pm ET on HBO and Max. There will be an encore airing on Sunday, September 22 at 9 pm ET, and then the show will move to its regular time slot of Sundays at 9 pm ET starting on September 29.
Here’s the full list of episodes in The Penguin, with premiere dates:
- Thursday, September 19, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 1: “After Hours”
- Sunday, September 29, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 2: “Inside Man”
- Sunday, October 6, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 3: “Bliss”
- Sunday, October 13, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 4: “Cent’Anni”
- Sunday, October 20, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 5: “Homecoming”
- Sunday, October 27, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 6: “Gold Summit”
- Sunday, November 3, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 7: “Top Hat”
- Sunday, November 10, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 8: “Great or Little Thing”
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