From vice guy to nice guy
Irish actor and heartthrob Colin Farrell on how he copes with the pressure of being in the media spotlight
From vice guy to nice guy
From Ballykissangel to Hollywood bad boy… the off-duty shenanigans of Colin Farrell may have sold a million newspapers, but in reality the Irish actor is as dedicated as they come
EARLIER THIS YEAR in London, a newspaper seller outside Knightsbridge tube station is about to do brisk business. Having received the latest edition of the evening paper, he holds up a copy for passers-by to see the front page. Within minutes, a large throng is pushing coins in his direction and feverishly reading the news. The piece of gossip that has grabbed their attention? A story about Colin Farrell and a young brunette woman he was spotted with the night before.
Barely 200 yards down the road from the tube stop at the posh Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel, the 30-year-old Irish actor shakes his head as he contemplates the rabid interest in his personal life.
“I’m not a Hollywood star,” he argues (incorrectly). “Yet there is all this scrutiny. I have grown to accept it, though. After all, you are scrutinised throughout your life, whether it’s by your family, friends or society.”
From the moment he became famous, Farrell’s career has been overshadowed by his private life.
Forget the fact that he is one of the most committed and respected young actors out there (Al Pacino called him the greatest thespian of his generation after the two worked together on The Recruit in 2003), the popular press can’t get enough of his hell-raising ways. A rare talent who likes to party hard is nothing new, of course, but Farrell is able to combine being a consummate professional on set with rock-star shenanigans in a way that makes him Hollywood’s most fascinating Jekyll and Hyde character. So who is the real Colin Farrell? “That’s not for me to say,” he smiles. “I’m just friendly, polite, hyperactive and sensitive.”
Farrell’s outlook on life has been heavily influenced by his parents; his father Eamon, who played football for Irish club Shamrock Rovers, and mother Rita.
“My mother taught me to listen, to watch and to learn,” the star says, recalling his childhood years in Dublin growing up alongside three older siblings, sisters Catherine and Claudine and brother Eamon junior. “She also taught me to love life and have a good time.”
To ensure that her son, who wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a footballer, had a well-rounded upbringing, Rita Farrell insisted young Colin take dancing lessons while at school. Although he made decent money as a professional line dancer, Farrell turned his attention to acting instead and headed for Australia in search of a big break. After returning to the UK with some amateur theatre experience under his belt, the fledgling actor followed in the footsteps of his brother and enrolled in Dublin’s Gaiety School of Acting. He dropped out before long but within a short space of time had picked up enough to impress the makers of Irish TV series Ballykissangel, who cast him as Danny Byrne in 1998. Two years later, Farrell found himself on the fast track to fame after lighting up the screen as a Texan soldier in war film Tigerland. Since then he has never been short of work, alternating between high-profile Hollywood offerings (Minority Report, Daredevil, The Recruit, SWAT, Phone Booth, The New World,
Alexander and Miami Vice) and smaller independent films that received a limited release (Intermission, A Home at the End of the World and Ask the Dust).
An indication of his success is the list of big-name filmmakers he has collaborated with, including Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Michael Mann and Woody Allen.
ASK DIRECTORS AND fellow actors about Farrell’s thespian talent and they all point to the research he puts in to the roles. Most recently, the actor spent time hanging out with undercover cops before playing Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice.
“To find an avenue into a character it is always helpful to do something that’s different from your own realm of experience,” Farrell says, talking about his approach to acting. ”Anything you do as an actor that is obscure to you personally – whether it’s playing an instrument you’ve never played before or changing your body physically – helps you into the role.”
Among his recent experiences was learning a few new dance steps while filming Miami Vice. “I thought I was an okay dancer until we started to rehearse,” he says, discussing a scene in which he takes to the dance-floor with ravishing co-star Gong Li. “We rehearsed for two months and they organised some salsa dancers to take us through our paces. We got to the set and by the end of the night Gong Li’s feet were in shreds. She had plasters over every toe. You’ll notice the camera didn’t pan down to the feet too often. But it was fun.”
Dancing aside, it will be pure acting that will keep Farrell busy. Over the next few years we’ll see him on celluloid in cop drama Pride And Glory, new Terrence Malick film Tree Of Life and, most intriguingly, in the yet-to-be-titled Woody Allen film that is currently being filmed predominantly in London.
The movie sees Farrell and Ewan McGregor play brothers who, in an attempt to get out of financial strife, turn to a life of crime. While the actor has worked with some of the greatest directors, he had such butterflies in his stomach upon first meeting Allen, that he unwittingly started to mimic the legendary filmmaker. The director (who recently told the Evening Standard that the Irish star was a “perfect and exciting actor” to work with) was so amused he gave Farrell the job after 30 seconds.
“I was nervous (when talking to Woody Allen),” Farrell recently told the World Entertainment News Network. “So when he said: ‘Colin, it’s really nice to meet you’, I went: ‘It’s really nice to meet you’ and sounded just like him. I swear I had no idea I was doing it. He’s lovely to be around and seems like a gentle person.”
Farrell’s first brief encounter with Woody Allen hints at a shy Irish lad – miles away from the movie star swagger we are used to. Indeed, today, as he chats to the press, there are times when the mask slips to reveal someone who’s surprisingly insecure. That would explain his closeness to his family and why he likes to keep them close by. So much so that, in fact, his sister Claudine is his personal assistant.
“She’s my sister but we’re also such good mates. And it’s nice to have someone around me who has known me for more than three months. She has known me 30 years now and she still tolerates me. She really is brilliant and does everything.”
One of Claudine’s many tasks is to let her brother know how well his movies do when they launch. “If I can’t get my sister on the phone then I know I’m in trouble,” he chuckles. “I’m lucky to have the family I’ve got around me to help me keep my feet on the ground. In this crazy business you need it.”
While Claudine is indispensable to Farrell in organising his career, she is also an important link to the family life in Dublin he so covets.
“My head is always in Dublin,” he says. “I miss it a lot [when I’m away]. I need to be there for my sanity, you know? All my friends and family are there. I have no interest to move anywhere at this point.”
It’s one of the benefits of being a star that he can help provide for his own. “If anyone in my family gets sick I can make sure they’ve got the best medical attention money can buy,” he points out. “Things like that are nice to be able to do for your loved ones.”
WITH FAMILY SO important to Farrell, it’s not surprising that he recently started his own. After divorcing British actress Amelia Warner in 2001, the actor had a son, James, with Canadian model Kim Bordenave in 2003.
“It’s a thrill to have James in my life,” says Farrell. “I love being with him. He’s so cute and is always laughing. I have somebody who, for the first time in my life, I’m in love with and I know it’s going to last and that’s an incredible feeling.”
It may be that James will play a role in keeping his father on the straight and narrow in the future. “I now have a reason to live,” declares Farrell, who reportedly has suffered from insomnia and depression. “I just want to share his world and see him grow. I want to teach him the same things my mother taught me: honesty, integrity, to respect your fellow man regardless of any difference you may perceive on the outside. I want him to figure out his own path. I’m interested to see where he’ll go. Life is an interesting trip. A gift and a burden.”
What would he count as one of the burdens? Clearly, he’s not too taken with having to head down to the gym to stop his six-pack turning into a beer barrel. “It’s boring and a waste of time. If I have to work out for a role, I do because it’s part of my job. But I’d prefer to be sitting in a pub with friends.”
The amount of time Farrell spends in the pub is, of course, well chronicled, as is the fact that the hard-drinking actor recently booked himself into rehab.
“It gave me some time to step back and have a look at the journey that I’ve been on,” he says. “Do I enjoy a sober living? Life is life.
It comes in good and bad. Ups and downs.”
While Farrell has taken some serious steps to change his off-screen behaviour, the ups in his life – bags of acting ability and star quality – are still being tainted by the downs – the circus that is his private life. For instance, the success of Miami Vice came at a time when people were talking about how the actor’s appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno was interrupted by a woman who is allegedly stalking him. While Farrell detests the way the photographers follow his every move, he won’t live a lie just to stay out of the spotlight.
“Have I wanted to punch out a paparazzi? Sure,” he says. “But it’s just part of the business that I’m in. I’m not going to tone down my behaviour or my comments.”
That sort of belligerence comes at a price. As my time with Farrell draws to a close, the streets of London are positively buzzing with rumours surrounding the actor’s stay in town. Ask him if the media attention will eventually grind him down to the point where he hates his career and he is quick to answer.
“No, man, it’s just the way things are,” he retorts with a broad smile. “There are certain restrictions and people are watching your every move. But at the same time you get to see a lot more of the world as a movie star than if I was sat back at home in Dublin. For me the pros of the job still far outweigh the cons.”
