Colin James Farrell (born 31 May 1976) is an Irish film actor. He appeared on the BBC's Ballykissangel in 1998, made his film debut in the Tim Roth-directed The War Zone a year later and was discovered by Joel Schumacher for Tigerland (2000). Farrell then starred in Schumacher's Phone Booth (2002) and the American thrillers S.W.A.T. and The Recruit (both 2003), establishing his international box-office appeal. During that time, he also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report (2002) and as the villain in Daredevil (2003). After starring in the independent films Intermission (2003) and A Home at the End of the World (2004) he headed Oliver Stone’s biopic Alexander (2004) and the Terrence Malick Pocahontas movie, The New World (2005).
Work in Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, the adaptation of John Fante's Ask the Dust (both 2006) and Woody Allen’s Cassandra's Dream (2007) followed, underscoring Farrell's popularity among Hollywood writers and directors; however, it was for his role in fellow Irishman Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges (2008) that he received a Golden Globe. More recently, he co-starred in the Fright Night (2011) and Total Recall (2012) remakes and McDonagh's second feature, Seven Psychopaths (2012). Farrell also starred with Noomi Rapace in the Niels Arden Oplev-directed action film Dead Man Down, and as Travers Goff in Saving Mr. Banks (both in 2013).
In 2014, Farrell starred as Peter Lake in Akiva Goldsman's film adaptation of Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale (with Russell Crowe and Will Smith). He is co-starring with Jessica Chastain in Liv Ullmann's adaptation of Miss Julie.
A favorite with film critics such as Peter Bradshaw, Manohla Dargis, and the late Roger Ebert, during the 2000s Farrell developed a reputation as a lothario and dated a number of women (including Angelina Jolie and former Playboy playmate Nicole Narain). He was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2003. Farrell has two sons: one with model Kim Bordenave and another with his Ondine costar, Alicja Bachleda-Curuś.
Farrell was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Rita (née Monaghan) and Eamon Farrell. His father played football for Shamrock Rovers and ran a health-food shop His uncle, Tommy Farrell, also played for the Rovers. Farrell was raised Roman Catholic.
The actor has an older brother, Eamon, Jr., and two sisters, Claudine and Catherine; Claudine, his older sister, is his personal assistant. When Farrell was ten his family moved to Castleknock, a Dublin suburb. He was educated at St. Brigid's National School, followed by secondary school at Castleknock College and Gormanston College. Farrell unsuccessfully auditioned for the Irish musical group Boyzone around this time.
He was inspired to try acting when E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial moved him to tears. With his brother's encouragement he attended the Gaiety School of Acting, dropping out when he was cast as Danny Byrne on Ballykissangel (a BBC television drama about a young English priest who becomes part of an Irish rural community).
He was discovered in Sydney by Hume Theatre Company and cast in the role of Stevie Hart in their original production of Kelly's Reign.
Farrell had roles in television shows and films, including Ballykissangel and Falling for a Dancer in 1998 and 1999. He made his feature film debut in English actor Tim Roth's directorial debut The War Zone, a drama about an incident of child abuse, starring Ray Winstone and Tilda Swinton as parents of a girl Farrell's character (Nick) dates. The actor also appeared in Ordinary Decent Criminal with Kevin Spacey and Linda Fiorentino, a film loosely based on the life of Martin Cahill. In 2000, Farrell was cast in the lead role of Private Roland Bozz in Tigerland, an under-released film directed by American Joel Schumacher. He reportedly got the part on the basis of his charm. Emanuel Levy of Variety said that the actor "shines as the subversive yet basically-decent lad whose cynicism may be the only sane reaction to a situation". Michael Holden of The Guardian wrote that the actor was "too much the hero" to fit the classic rebel archetype properly, but he did not mind. Tigerland earned $139,500.
Farrell's next American films, American Outlaws (2001) and Hart's War (2002), were not commercially successful. His 2002–2003 films, including Phone Booth, The Recruit and S.W.A.T. (all thrillers, with the former two his first starring roles), were well received by critics and successful at the box office. Of Phone Booth, Ebert wrote that it is "Farrell's to win or lose, since he's onscreen most of the time, and he shows energy and intensity". Philip French of The Observer praised Farrell's performance. In S.W.A.T., the actor starred in an ensemble cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, Olivier Martinez and Jeremy Renner; Renner became a friend. Alan Morrison of Empire wrote, "Farrell can usually be relied upon to bring a spark to the bonfire. That's also true of [this movie]." Elvis Mitchell of the New York Times criticized Farrell's accent, writing that he "employ[ed] a wobbly American accent that makes him sound like an international criminal a step ahead of the authorities". Ebert and the New York Times' A.O. Scott disagreed on the actor's effectiveness in The Recruit; Ebert noted the actor's likability, but Scott felt that Farrell "spends his time in a caffeinated frenzy, trying to maintain his leading-man sang-froid while registering panic, stress and confusion". Phone Booth earned $46.6 million, S.W.A.T. $116.9 million and The Recruit $52.8 million at the box office.
Farrell's supporting roles include an ambitious Justice Department agent opposite Tom Cruise, a potential criminal in Minority Report (2002), and the villain Bullseye in Daredevil (2003). Matt Damon was originally offered the Minority Report role, turning it down to appear in Ocean's Eleven. Farrell said "he had no problem" being the producer's fallback after Damon declined. Bullseye is an assassin, proud of his accuracy. Farrell was signed to the role in December 2001, although he was considered for the lead role of Matt Murdock (Daredevil) until Ben Affleck signed. Farrell was encouraged to keep his Irish accent, since this version of Bullseye is from Ireland. He read Frank Miller's Daredevil comics to understand Bullseye "because the expression on the character's faces in the comic books, and just the way they move sometimes, and the exaggerations of the character I'm playing...he's so over-the-top that you do draw from that. But it's not exactly a character you can do method acting for...you know, running around New York killing people with paper clips". That year, he was voted sixth World's "Sexiest Man" by Company magazine.
In late 2003 Farrell starred as a criminal who plots a bank robbery with Cillian Murphy in the dark comedy Intermission, which held the record for highest-grossing Irish independent film in Irish box-office history for three years and remains a cult classic there. In 2004 he appeared in several other independent films receiving limited theatrical release in most countries, including A Home at the End of the World (adapted from Michael Cunningham's 1990 novel). Roger Ebert praised Farrell, saying that he was "astonishing in the movie, not least because the character is such a departure from everything he has done before". Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle differed, saying that the actor "is keen on making good....The effort is there, but it's a performance you end up rooting for rather than enjoying, because there's no way to just relax and watch".
Farrell played the title role of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's 2004 biographical film Alexander, which, while receiving some favorable reviews internationally, was poorly received in the United States. Its portrayal of the conqueror as bisexual was controversial; the film was criticized by some historians for its treatment of the ancient Persians, although others praised it for its accuracy. An ancient-history scholar at the University of Nebraska wrote:
I would compare [Alexander] to Lawrence of Arabia, in terms of sheer scope, pacing, and its unrelenting focus on a single individual.... In many ways, this is a movie for Greek and Alexander "geeks." The more one knows, the more one will recognize—the historical accuracy of sets is better than I've seen in some documentaries.
The film grossed $167 million worldwide, just exceeding its budget of $155 million.
Farrell's next film was 2005's Academy Award-nominated The New World, his second historical epic. He played the lead role of Captain John Smith, the founder of 17th-century colonial Jamestown, Virginia who falls in love with the native American princess Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher). Director Terrence Malick went out of his way to keep Farrell and Kilcher apart until they were filmed together. Although it was released in only 811 theaters worldwide and had a relatively low box-office gross, the film received a large number of positive reviews.[ In one of four reviews in The Guardian, John Patterson described it as a "bottomless movie, almost unspeakably beautiful and formally harmonious". The New World was followed by Ask the Dust, a period romance set in Los Angeles based on a John Fante novel and co-starring Salma Hayek. Reviews were mixed; Manohla Dargis of the New York Times favorably described Farrell's work, but Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian found "something a little forced in both lead performances". With a limited theatrical release, it was not a financial success.
The actor was more successful in 2006 with his role opposite Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's action crime drama, Miami Vice. The film grossed $164 million worldwide on a budget of $135 million, and TimeOut New York ranked it among the top 50 movies of the decade. (The DVD, released the same year, also managed to sell over a million copies (equivalent to $7.91 million in pirated versions) in its first week alone., and, as of February 11, 2007, had grossed over $36.45 million in rentals. A. O. Scott criticized Farrell's work: "Mr. Mann's script has its share of silly, overwrought lines, but they only really sound that way in Mr. Farrell's mouth. (Did he really say, 'I’m a fiend for mojitos'? ¡Dios mío!) When he's not on screen, you don’t miss him, and when he is, you find yourself, before long, looking at someone or something else." Conversely, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was enthusiastic. The actor also reportedly took a slight pay cut to make friend and recent Oscar winner Jamie Foxx happy: His salary was initially larger than Foxx's.
Farrell next appeared in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, which premiered in 2007 and was distributed in the US in early 2008. Reviews were mixed, with Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide writing that Allen's work was "shallow and unconvincing from beginning to end" and Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle saying that although "it's not as good as Match Point or Crimes and Misdemeanors...taken on its own, it's a fairly impressive piece, a directorially vigorous, well-acted, tightly constructed movie". LaSalle praised Farrell: "Allen is notorious for not giving his actors explicit instructions, and yet somehow this worked wonders for Farrell, who has never seemed so naked, so clear and so unencumbered as he does here." Manohla Dargis concurred in the New York Times, adding that he thought Farrell was well-matched with co-star Ewan McGregor.
Farrell's next film, Martin McDonagh's first full-length feature In Bruges, opened the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. While the New Yorker and TimeOut London's film critics found co-star Brendan Gleeson's performance the stronger of the two, Bradshaw of The Guardian found Farrell (as hitman Ray) "absolutely superb: moody and funny, lethally sexy, sometimes heartbreakingly sad and vulnerable like a little boy". Time called the film "the prettiest bloodbath of 2008", and Farrell received his first Golden Globe.
Shortly thereafter he appeared in Kicking It, a documentary following six homeless men from Kenya, Russia, Afghanistan, Ireland, Spain and the US as they attempt to qualify for the Homeless World Cup. Farrell appeared on screen and provided the narration, donating his earnings to a homeless shelter in Ireland. The film was released simultaneously in theaters and on television, airing on ESPN2 in a very short window before its DVD release. Farrell received positive reviews for his involvement in the true story.
Later in 2008 Farrell was brother-in-law to Edward Norton's character in Pride and Glory, a police drama directed by American Gavin O'Connor. Roger Ebert disliked the film and A. O. Scott said that the actor "once again indulges his blustery mixture of menace and charm, overdoing both," but Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly liked Farrell's work.
On 11 January 2009 Farrell won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor: Musical or Comedy for In Bruges, in which he co-starred with Brendan Gleeson. That year he also appeared in Terry Gilliam's film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, starring Christopher Plummer and soon-to-play-Spider-Man Andrew Garfield. Farrell was one of three actors (with Johnny Depp and Jude Law), who helped complete Heath Ledger's role when Ledger died before filming ended. They played "Imaginarium" versions of Ledger's character Tony, donating their earnings to Ledger's daughter Matilda.
Farrell also starred that year in Triage, directed by Oscar-winning Bosnian screenwriter and director Danis Tanović, about the life of a war correspondent. He lost 30 pounds for the role. The actor's work was described as "dedicated" by Variety's Todd McCarthy, and Julian Sancton of Vanity Fair wrote that the film was "a hell of a lot more insightful than other movies that deal with a similar topic". However, Triage was not widely distributed due to the marketing challenges posed by its difficult topics (including PTSD). That year, Farrell played a supporting role (as Tommy Sweet) in Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges.
Another 2009 release was Ondine, a fantasy-drama directed by Neil Jordan starring Farrell as a fisherman with a handicapped daughter. Shot in the village of Castletownbere on Ireland's southwest coast, it featured cinematography by longtime Wong Kar-wai collaborator Christopher Doyle. Mary Pols of Time magazine called the role "tailor-made for Farrell", saying that the actor gave a "beautifully confident performance". Todd McCarthy of Variety singled Farrell out, noting that he worked well as an ensemble actor "graciously allowing [child star Alison Barry] to steal every scene she's in".
The next year, Farrell starred with Keira Knightley in the crime romance London Boulevard. The film, American William Monahan's debut as director after writing screenplays for The Departed and Body of Lies, was panned by critics. Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian wrote that the film "uses up all its energy, wit and ideas in the first 20 or so minutes, before collapsing into a flurry of boring violence".Leslie Felperin of Variety described it as "like a fancy, retro-styled pocket watch that someone accidentally broke and tried to reassemble with only a vague idea of clockwork". Felperin thought the stars' work was frail, with Farrell "mostly taciturn and vacuous."
The actor starred in the 2011 comedy Horrible Bosses, directed by Seth Gordon, with Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis. The film focuses on a trio of employees who plot to murder their tyrannical superiors. The London Observer's Mark Kermode wrote that although the film would have benefited from a tighter script, Farrell and Jamie Foxx had juicy roles which they "riff with panache". Michael Phillips of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Farrell brought "massive, slobby relish" to his role as Sudeikis's cocaine-fiend boss.
Later that year Farrell played the main antagonist in the Fright Night remake, joining Anton Yelchin, David Tennant and Toni Collette in the story of a charismatic vampire who moves next door to a high-school student and his single mother. The film was released by DreamWorks, with Craig Gillespie (of Lars and the Real Girl) directing a script by Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Marti Noxon. Sukhdev Sandhu of the Telegraph wrote that Farrell "proves his comedy credentials once more....utterly seductive as the plushly eyebrowed carpenter-cum-bloodsucker",[92] while the New York Times' A.O. Scott thought that Farrell played his role with "a wink and a snarl and a feline purr". Logan Hill of New York magazine, on the other hand, was confused by the actor's performance: "Sure, [it] may not make much sense, but neither do centuries-old vampires living in Nevadan subdivisions. So he goes for it."
Farrell starred with Kate Beckinsale in Columbia Pictures' Total Recall, a 2012 remake of the 1990 film with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Filmed from May to September 2011 in Toronto and directed by Len Wiseman, the film was a new sci-fi take about a sleeper agent. Costar Jessica Biel appreciated Farrell's skills, calling the actor "surprising and exciting. He just has the ability to be trying different things all the time." Roger Ebert and the New York Times said that although they believed Farrell the better actor, Schwarzenegger in the original was "more of a movie presence and better suited for the role".
Also in 2011, Farrell had a recurring role in the short-lived TV drama series Pan Am, playing newspaper columnist Mike Ruskin, who becomes romantically involved with Christina Ricci's character, Maggie Ryan.
After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, Seven Psychopaths (Farrell's second film with McDonagh) was released in October 2012. The actor starred as creatively blocked writer Marty in a black comedy with Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken. It broke even at the box office and reviews were generally good, with David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter writing that Farrell "serves as an excellent foil for Rockwell" and the actor "is in subdued mode...his performance largely defined by the endless expressivity of his eyebrows".That month, Farrell appeared on the cover of the magazine Details.
March 2013 saw the release of Dead Man Down, a thriller directed by Niels Arden Oplev reuniting Farrell with Terrence Howard for the first time since Hart's War ten years earlier. Noomi Rapace, star of Oplev's The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, starred as a facially scarred woman who blackmails Farrell's character into killing the man who disfigured her in a car crash. Reviews were mixed, with Empire calling the film "a pleasingly intricate double (or is it triple?) revenge plot anchored by excellent acting" and the Hollywood Reporter saying that
"[J.H.] Wyman's script and the measured pace don’t lend themselves to the necessary escalating tension that would have resulted in a more rewarding climax." The New York Times' Manola Dargis called the film a failure, but said of the actor: "Farrell and his sensitive, hardworking eyebrows help keep it from becoming a full-bore lampoon." Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News also disliked the film; it contained "a lot to roll your eyes over" and, while Farrell was commendable, he was "as stoic as a statue".
In 2014, Farrell starred in a film adaptation of Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale. The film was written and directed by Akiva Goldsman and based on Helprin's 1983 novel, and co-starred Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe, and Will Smith. Farrell won the lead role over younger actors Garrett Hedlund, Tom Hiddleston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Although the film generally received negative reviews due to the overly romantic nature of the film, writers such as The Village Voice's Stephanie Zacharek had nothing but praise for Farrell.
She described him as "an extraordinary appealing actor" who "has always made a terrific bad boy, but ... seems to be settling into some very serious, responsible-adult roles." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle agreed, writing that the actor "holds the movie together" and is part of "the most beautiful [love scene] so far of 2014."
His work as the alcoholic father P.L. Travers adores in Saving Mr. Banks got contrasting reviews with Variety's Scott Foundras calling it "excellent" and Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter "his best work in some time" but The Guardians Peter Bradshaw describing it as "bland" and "uninspired" and The Telegraphs Robbie Collin expressing that the actor was wrong for the role. But on a budget of $35 million, it made $83.2 million as of March 20, 2014.
Farrell is involved in two film adaptations: August Strindberg's Miss Julie and Flann O'Brien's metafictional novel At Swim-Two-Birds. Liv Ullmann's adaptation of Strindberg's Miss Julie stars Farrell, Jessica Chastain and Samantha Morton. In O'Brien's At Swim-Two-Birds, Farrell is scheduled to star with Cillian Murphy and Gabriel Byrne. Farrell's friend, actor Brendan Gleeson will direct.[ In 2011, Gleeson confirmed that he had funding for the project.
In 2007, Farrell joined other celebrities as a spokesman for the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China. He has also lent his support to the anti-bullying campaign Stand Up! organised by the Irish LGBT youth organisation BeLonG To in March 2012. The actor appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show two years earlier to increase awareness of the subject.
Farrell dated English actress Amelia Warner from July to November 2001. There was speculation that they married; of the experience, the actor said "Too fast, too young." However, in December 2011 Warner told The Sun that the marriage was never legal: "We had a ceremony on a beach in Tahiti that was by no means legal and we knew it wasn't...It was just a thing we did on holiday. We went shark feeding and then we did that. We booked them both on the activities desk at the hotel."
Farrell and British-American writer Emma Forrest dated for over a year, an experience she discusses in depth in her memoir Your Voice in My Head (focusing on her relationship with her therapist, who died unexpectedly; it is a planned film starring Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci). According to Forrest, she and Farrell planned to have a child together before he ended the relationship. By the end of 2003 he was linked to singer Britney Spears, Playboy cover girl Nicole Narain, model Josie Maran and actresses Angelina Jolie, Maeve Quinlan and Demi Moore.
Farrell has a son, James Padraig Farrell (born 2003), with American model Kim Bordenave. In October 2007 he said his son has Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterised by intellectual and developmental delay, lack of speech and a happy, excitable demeanor. From 2007 to 2008 the actor dated Muirann McDonnell, an Irish medical student. Farrell fathered his second child, Henry Tadeusz Farrell (born October 2009), with Ondine co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curuś. Their relationship ended in mid-2010.
Farrell had reportedly grown close to actress Elizabeth Taylor shortly before her death; he had reportedly pursued her, and was one of the few non-family members to attend her private funeral.[ He recited the poem "The Leaden Echo and The Golden Echo" by Gerard Manley Hopkins, as requested by Taylor. Farrell said, "It was a tricky poem as well. Even in passing she had me under the thumb, sweating bricks".
In December 2005, Farrell checked into a rehabilitation treatment center for addictions to recreational drugs and painkillers. He spoke about it on the Late Show with David Letterman after he came out of rehab and in the years since. "There was an energy that was created," he says of the time when he was addicted, "a character that was created, that no doubt benefited me. And then there was a stage where it all began to crumble around me."
On 20 July 2006, as Farrell was being interviewed by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, telephone sex worker Dessarae Bradford evaded security, walked on stage, confronted Farrell and threw her book on Leno's desk. Farrell escorted her off the stage as she shouted "I'll see you in court", handing her over to NBC security. After being held by the Burbank police, Bradford was released. The next day, Farrell obtained a restraining order against her and the incident was edited out of the broadcast.
Bradford had twice attempted to sue Farrell for abusive messages, but the lawsuits were dismissed due to a lack of evidence. She failed a lie-detector test on an Ion Television program when attempting to prove her claims.
In July 2006 Farrell filed a lawsuit against his former girlfriend, Playboy model Nicole Narain, and the Internet Commerce Group (ICG) for the unauthorized public distribution of a 14-minute sex tape which they made in 2003 While ICG tried to release it, Narain said that she would work with Farrell to ensure that the tape remained private; Farrell said she tried to release it to damage his acting career and "make money out of it", a claim Narain denies. On 16 April 2006 they reached a confidential settlement; Farrell's lawsuit against ICG continued, with a trial date of 21 July.
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