Danny de Vito says his Penguin was better than Colin Farrell’s in new Batman

The acting legend made the fun put-down of the Irish star after being hooked up to a lie detector test for Vanity Fair.

Forced to give his opinion on Farrell’s performance while hooked up to the lie detector, DeVito said: “I love Colin. He’s a terrific guy. My Penguin was better.”

Checking to see if the detector responded, the actor added: “Was that the truth? It most certainly was. In my opinion.”

Both actors have played Gotham villain the Penguin - aka Oswald Copplepot - in different guises. DeVito’s darkly comic turn as the baddie was the standout in Batman Returns, while Dubliner Farrell’s take in this year’s The Batman has been widely praised.

Farrell piled on the pounds and looked completely unrecognisable for the role, which he’s set to revisit.

Later this year he’ll star filming a spin-off series for HBO which will focus on the story of The Penguin as he grabs violently for greater power in Gotham.

“Colin exploded off the screen as the Penguin in The Batman, and having the chance to thoroughly explore the inner life of that character on HBO Max is an absolute thrill,” The Batman director Matt Reeves said recently.

Farrell is currently filming another TV series called Sugar on location in Los Angeles.