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Colin James Farrell (born May 31, 1976) is an Irish actor who has appeared in several high-profile Hollywood films including Daredevil, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, Alexander, In Bruges. and S.W.A.T. A handsome, dark-haired Irish actor with an intense screen presence, Colin Farrell shot to fame in the USA as a cagey army recruit with a penchant for troublemaking in "Tigerland" (2000). Like so many actors who seem to achieve overnight stardom, the Dublin-born actor had paid his dues with film and TV roles. Raised in the Castleknock section of Dublin, this son of a soccer player admits to a somewhat rebellious youth, attending several schools and indulging in beer drinking. After spending a year in Australia, he returned to Ireland and enrolled at the Gaiety School of Acting but left after a year when his career began to take off. Farrell landed his first film role in "Drinking Crude" (1997) and the following year had a supporting role in the period TV drama "Falling For a Dancer" (aired in the USA on Romance Classics). Farrell was born in Castleknock, Dublin, the son of Rita (née Monaghan), a homemaker, and Eamon Farrell, who operates a health food store and was a footballer who played for Shamrock Rovers FC. Farrell has three siblings, two sisters, Claudine (who is his personal assistant) and Catherine, and a brother, Eamon Óg. Farrell was educated at St. Brigid's National School in Castleknock followed by Castleknock College and Gormanston College. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was a promising young football player for Dublin team, Castleknock Celtic, as a goalkeeper and dated Angie Miller. Farrell auditioned for the Irish group Boyzone when he was still unknown. Farrell attended The Gaiety School of Acting, but dropped out and was cast in the part of Danny Byrne on Ballykissangel, a BBC television drama. Farrell appeared on the show from 1998 to 1999. He then landed the regular role of Danny Byrne on the popular Irish series "Ballykissangel", which he played for two seasons. Farrell went on to play a small role in Tim Roth's film directorial debut, "The War Zone" (1999) and co-star as an autistic teen in the Donmar Warehouse staging of "In a Little World of Our". As it happened, actor Kevin Spacey saw the production and recommended the young actor to the director of "Ordinary Decent Criminals" (2000), the fictionalized story of Irish thief Martin Cahill that was to star Spacey. Next up was "Tigerland", in which Farrell, under the direction of Joel Schumacher, more than held his own as the Texan who deploys an anti-establishment attitude despite possessing the makings of a leader. Whatever critics felt about the merits of the film, the actor enjoyed nearly unanimous raves for his work. Farrell had a number of small parts in various TV shows and movies, until 2000, when he was cast in the lead role of Private Roland Bozz in Tigerland, an American film directed by Joel Schumacher. Farrell's next American films, American Outlaws (2001) and Hart's War (2002), were not commercially successful, but his 2003 films, including Phone Booth, S.W.A.T. and The Recruit were well-received box office successes. Although he has a pronounced Irish accent, Farrell uses an American accent in some of his films including American Outlaws and his breakthrough role, Tigerland. Farrell is also a proven supporting actor, given his performances as an ambitious cop who chases after a potential criminal, played by actor Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002), and as the skilled villain Bullseye in Daredevil (2003). Farrell quickly vaulted to the A-list and soon found himself fielding offers for roles originally earmarked for stars like Jim Carrey, Matt Damon and Edward Norton. In 2001, he starred as Jesse James in the poorly received revisionist Western "American Outlaws" and was cast as a lawyer turned WWII pilot who is captured by the Germans and then must defend a fellow P.O.W. on murder charges in "Hart's War" (2002) opposite Bruce Willis. Farrell's major introduction to mainstream audiences came in 2002, when he acted alongside Tom Cruise (as the hard-nosed Danny Witwer, who doggedly pursues Cruise's character) in the Steven Spielberg-directed sci-fi thriller "Minority Report." His first major starring role in a studio release was set to be the Schumacher-directed "Phone Booth," but it was postponed from its original fall 2002 release date due to a series of similar, real-life sniper killings in Maryland making news at the same time. Despite the delay, by early 2003, buzz was high on Farrell--whose press interviews routinely featured the unabashed, outspoken actor drinking, smoking and cursing--as he starred in two high-profile films: first, "The Recruit," in which he played a rising young operative at the CIA who becomes embroiled in the mysterious machinations of his teacher (Al Pacino) and his lover (Bridget Moynahan); second, in memorable appearance as the comic book villain Bullseye, an assassin with incredibly deadly accuracy, who battles Ben Affleck in the big screen version of Marvel Comics' "Daredevil" (2003). Farrell went devilishly over-the-top as a comic book killer and makes the most of his all-too-brief appearances. The increasingly popular star next starred in the big-budget, action-oriented version of the 70s cop drama "S.W.A.T." (2003), playing a former S.W.A.T. team member thrown off the team in the aftermath of a controversial decision who gets a chance to redeem himself when he's recruited by team leader Samuel L. Jackson for a high-risk mission. In late 2003, Farrell starred as a criminal who plots a bank heist with Cillian Murphy in the comedy Intermission, which held the record as highest-grossing Irish independent film in Irish box office history until 2006. In 2004, Farrell appeared in several independent films that received only a limited theatrical release in most countries, including A Home at the End of the World, which received some positive Farrell appeared in the title role of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's 2004 biopic Alexander, which, while receiving some favorable reviews internationally, received mostly mediocre and negative reviews in the United States. It was marked by controversy for openly portraying the ancient conqueror as bisexual, and among some historians for its portrayal of the ancient Persians, though others praised it for its accuracy in these regards as well. The movie grossed a total of $167 million worldwide, despite its poor showing within the United States, just exceeding its budget of $155 million. Farrell then surprised critics with an atypical performance in "A Home at the End of the World" (2004), playing the sweet-natured, soft-spoken Bobby, a man coming of age in the 70s and 80s who, after being taken in by a family following the death of his beloved older brother, is caught up in a unique family dynamic and romantic triangle as he tries to live up to his brother's hippie sensibilities. He followed up with a bravura performance, complete with dyed blonde hair, as Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's epic historical drama "Alexander" (2004). Alas, Farrell’s star turn as the conflicted conqueror failed to elevate the film into a hit—at least within the contiguous United States. Meanwhile, the actor starred in another historical drama made by an acclaimed director, Terrance Malick’s “The New World” (2005), a lyrical, but ultimately meandering take on the settlement at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 and the ensuing love affair between Captain John Smith (Farrell) and a young Native American girl, Pocahontas (Q’Orianka Kilcher). Farrell was next seen in “Ask The Dust” (2006), a project that finally saw fruition after being in development for over 30 years. Farrell was cast as a young, ambitious writer fled from Colorado because of his Italian heritage to Los Angeles where he flourishes as a novelist and becomes obsessed with a Mexican barmaid. Farrell was then set to film “Pride And Glory” (lensed 2006), a crime drama about the personal and professional lives of three generations of New York police officers. He was next cast by director Michael Mann to play Sonny Crockett in the remake of the hit 1980s police procedural, “Miami Vice” (2006). Shooting began in April 2005 and from the start the production experienced on disaster after another. Known to work his actors harder than most directors, Mann told Farrell to bulk up for his role. Farrell complied, but injured his back and ribs while lifting weights, pushing production back six weeks into the heart of hurricane season. Then while out joyriding in a convertible Ferrari with costar Jaime Foxx, who played partner Ricardo Tubbs, a strong wind blew out the windows on a skyscraper and sent large shards of glass onto the street below where the two actors were cruising around. They barely escaped unscathed. After a grueling 105-day shoot that saw a local Dominican shot by Mann’s security after he brandished a gun near set, Farrell checked himself into a drug rehab for his growing dependence on prescription drugs. He completed the program successfully and took some much needed time off. Returning to the public eye in 2006, Farrell did the usual promotion for “Miami Vice” before moving on to film Woody Allen’s 2006 summer project in London, a comedy about two brothers (Farrell and Ewan McGregor) with serious financial troubles who are approached by a third party to commit a crime that goes bad and eventually turns them into bitter enemies. His next film was 2005's Academy Award-nominated The New World, also a historical epic that was met with mixed reviews. Farrell played the leading role of captain John Smith, the founder of 17th century colonial Jamestown, Virginia who falls in love with a beautiful Native American princess, Pocahontas, played by actress Q'Orianka Kilcher. The film achieved success, despite being released in 811 theatres worldwide and having a relatively low box office gross. The New World was followed by Ask the Dust, a romance film set in period Los Angeles co-starring Salma Hayek. It received a very limited theatrical release and was not a financial success. 2006 brought more success in Farrell's career, as he appeared opposite Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's action-crime film Miami Vice. The film was a box office success grossing a total of US $163,557,986 worldwide. Farrell married English actress Amelia Warner in July 2001 and divorced her four months later. Farrell has a son, James (born September 12, 2003), with American model Kim Bordenave, from whom he has since separated. In October 2007, Farrell revealed that his son has Angelman Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterised by intellectual and developmental delay, speech impediment, sleep disturbance, seizures, hand flapping movements, frequent laughter/smiling and usually a happy demeanour. In December 2005, Farrell voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation treatment center for addictions to recreational drugs and painkillers. His publicist commented that Farrell had started taking painkillers due to a back injury. He was released in January 2006. In May 2006, Farrell started attending rehabilitation meetings. Farrell, appearing on the cover of the April 2008 British issue of GQ magazine states he is currently single. He currently owns property near Phoenix Park in Dublin, but is living in a home he owns in Los Angeles to be near his son, Jimmie, who turned four in 2007. In July 2005, Farrell filed a lawsuit suing his former girlfriend, Playboy model Nicole Narrain, the Internet Commerce Group (ICG) and adult entertainment producer David Hans Schmidt over the unauthorized public distribution of a 14-minute sex tape that Farrell made with Narrain in 2003. Farrell claims he understood the tape as being "strictly private and confidential and will take legal court actions to anyone who tries to distribute it", but it was leaked to Schmidt and ICG who tried to release it publicly. A Los Angeles judge issued an injunction barring the sale, distribution, or display of the tape. Narrain claimed that she did not give the tape to anyone and was not sure if or how copies were taken from her. She originally said that she would work with Farrell to ensure that it remained private, but Farrell said Narrain was trying to release it along with Schmidt in order to damage his career and "make money out of it", which Nicole denies. In January 2006, the tape surfaced on website named dirtycolin.com. The site was shut down on the same day because of server overload, but re-opened a week later. The tape was then pirated through BitTorrent and other file sharing systems. Both Farrell's and Narrain's lawyers denounced the site, which was shut down again a few days later for unknown reasons. Farrell's legal team said it would take legal action against sites that hosted the tape. A trial date for the Narrain lawsuit was set for July 17, 2006, but the judge allowed Farrell and Nicole to mediate until April 20. On April 16, the two reached a settlement with confidential terms. However, Farrell's lawsuit against ICG continued with a trial date set for July 21, 2006. Farrell has been sued twice for alleged harassment and sending foul messages to telephone sex worker Dessarae Bradford. The lawsuits were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence provided by Bradford. Bradford, who has announced that she is "waging war on Colin Farrell", has recorded a song entitled "Colin Farrell is My Bitch" and has self-published a book called Colin Farrell: A Dark Twisted Puppy. Bradford had previously recorded a song and written a book in which she claimed to have engaged in pegging with actor Alec Baldwin. Bradford took a lie detector test on an i TV program in an attempt to support her claims and stories. She failed the test. On July 20, 2006, as Farrell was being interviewed by Jay Leno on the set of The Tonight Show, Bradford evaded security, walked on stage as cameras were rolling, confronted Farrell, and threw her book on Jay's desk. In front of a silent, stunned audience, Farrell escorted her off the stage himself, told the camera crew to stop filming, and handed her over to security. As Bradford was led out of the studio, she shouted "I'll see you in court." Farrell's response was a smooth, "Darling, you're insane!" Outside the studio, NBC security handed her off to Burbank police, who eventually released her. After Farrell apologized to the audience, describing Bradford as "my first stalker", the show then continued filming and the incident was edited out of the broadcast aired that night.Farrell later requested a restraining order in court against Bradford. Farrell said Bradford "accosted me during the taping of a network television show on July 20, 2006. I am concerned that her harassing behaviour has escalated and may pose an immediate threat to my well-being and the well-being of my family." The request also asked for Bradford to keep away from Farrell, his son James and James' mother, Kim Bordenave. Farrell was named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2003. He was also voted 6th in the World's "Sexiest Man" contest by Company Magazine in that same year. In 2007, Farrell joined other celebrities including Bruce Willis, Muhammad Ali, Eva Mendes, Vanessa L. Williams and Arnold Schwarzenegger to become an official games spokesman for the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China. He also made a guest appearance on the US sit-com Scrubs as Billy, a charming Irishman who accompanies a man who he knocked out in a fight to the Sacred Heart Hospital. Due to a misunderstanding he is assumed to be the unconscious man's brother, however when Billy informs them of what he did he is arrested at the behest of JD and Turk. |
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