“Be yourself. You don’t have to do any acting”: The Advice Cristin Milioti Got That Helped Her Nail Sofia Falcone in The Penguin

Popularly known for portraying Tracy McConnell in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, actress Cristin Milioti stars as Sofia Falcone in HBO’s The Penguin alongside Colin Farrell. The talented actress has appeared in the second season of the FX crime series Fargo, along with appearing in 2020 movie Palm Springs, and more.

The critics and the audience have appreciated the actress’s work as Sofia Falcone on The Penguin. The crime-drama series premiered in September 2024 and will conclude in November 2024. Milioti talks about prepping to play Sofia Falcone and one piece of advice from the makers that helped her performance.

Cristin Milioti reveals how she prepared to portray Sofia Falcone

Actress Cristin Milioti, who has received praise for playing Sofia Falcone on The Penguin, revealed her process of preparing to play a mob daughter in conversation with Games Radar. She said that initially, she tried to stay away from everything, but then co-actor Deidre O’Connell told her about watching her own performances for courage. The actress explained,

So not necessarily performances that had anything to do with Sofia, but just wanting to see other actors, directors, or writers swing for the fences. Just anything that felt like encouragement, but I tried to stay away from anything that was of this world.

The Penguin not only explores Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobbs’ rise to power but also Milioti’s Falcone’s quest for power and revenge against the ones who wronged her. According to reviews, her performance is intense and emotional, and aptly shows paranoia and PTSD, while also swiftly shifting her into villain mode.

In the fourth episode, Falcone kills her entire crime family who were trying to get rid of her by faking a gas leak. In conversation with USA Today, she explained that she has been waiting for this very moment all her life. She added that she’s wanted to be in this DC universe since she was a little kid, and she finally got to be in it. Watching herself on-screen, the actress noted that it was a complete and utter nightmare, but she watched her performance and had moments like, ‘That’s some villain’.

While speaking to Den of Geek, she was asked if she thinks her character could take on Batman, to which she said,

She could. She’s so smart, and she’s also instinctual. That’s why she and Oz are such good adversaries. There’s a history there, and they know each other, but she can smell when he’s lying. There’s that great line, ‘I trusted him even when every cell in my body told me not to’. She operates on that level and is surrounded by people who aren’t in touch with that.

The actress has been praised for her work on the show, and fans cannot wait to see what’s in store in the three more episodes.

One piece of advice The Penguin executive producers had for Cristin Milioti

Dylan Clark and Matt Reeves, who serve as the executive producers on the show, spoke to CBR and were asked what they told Cristin Milioti while preparing her to portray a mob daughter on-screen. Clark added,

Well, she grew up as a gangster’s daughter. So we just told her, ‘Be yourself. You don’t have to do any acting.’

Clark added that he and Reeves admire actors who have authenticity and understanding of the time, place, and vibe they are in. With Milioti being from New Jersey, the executive producer added she often spoke about family dinners and cousins, and about people on the block who may or may not be affiliated with the gangster criminal underworld.

The executive producer mentioned in the interview that the actress, who had already impressed the audience with her work on HIMYM, could channel the feeling and the vibe of the character. He concluded by adding that when she performed a scene with Farrell, they instantly knew that she understood the world she was becoming a part of, and that’s all they needed.

The Penguin is streaming on HBO MAX.