Colin Farrell is favourite to be crowned Leading Actor at tomorrow's BAFTAs, but the star’s career hasn’t all been smooth sailing.
Two decades ago, the Irishman was left questioning his life choices after appearing in the historical epic Alexander, which bombed at the box office.
But this year, Farrell, 46, is set to sweep the board at all the film awards ceremonies, thanks to his powerful yet funny performance in The Banshees of Inisherin.
The movie – which depicts a falling out between two friends on a remote Irish island – reunited Farrell with his In Bruges co-star and friend, Brendan Gleeson, 67.
Yet while the two pals picked up where they left off, Farrell didn’t have quite the same chemistry with the four-legged ‘friends’ they were acting alongside.
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Laughing, he said: “The animals had a connection with me, didn’t they?
“One connected its hoof to my kneecap, the other one connected its teeth to my thumb.
Farrell with Brendan Gleeson in a scene from The Banshees of Inisherin (Press Association Images)“She kicked me, Jenny the donkey… she gave me a good ol’ clatter on the knee.
“His dog bit me and there’s a horse in the film that tried to reverse me on the cart into the f***ing Atlantic Ocean.”
Farrell who has already won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Pádraic – who is left devastated when his buddy Colm (Gleeson) suddenly ends their lifelong friendship – said it was “amazing” to also receive BAFTA and Oscar nominations for the role.
Banshees – directed by Martin McDonagh – is also up for Best British Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay.
“It is lovely,” Farrell said. “To be in something that the response is so majoritively positive, both with audiences and critically, I get giddy.
“Best Picture was nearly the best part, rather than getting an Actor nod. It is bizarre and surreal. I am just enjoying it for the brief moment in time that it is.”
Farrell won Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for his performance in The Banshees of Inisherin (NBC via Getty Images)Farrell joked that Jenny the donkey was the biggest diva on set, but it was mostly down to nerves.
“She’s gorgeous,” he said, “but she was also a bit of a nervous wreck, which is understandable because film sets – if you don’t know what you’re doing – can be a very awkward place to be.
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“There’s so much movement, people have a purpose.
“But she is a perfect canvas for the projection of the human wish that everything would just stay – simple and innocent and enjoying the purity of life.”
Farrell has come a long way from his breakout role in BBC ’s Ballykissangel back in 1998. He then swapped the small screen for the big screen to star in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report in 2002 and has since earned millions for roles in films such as Miami Vice, Phone Booth and The Batman.
But the humble actor remains plagued by self-doubt. Speaking to THR TV, Farrell admitted: “Still, 20 years later, I’m like, ‘F***ing hell, don’t say it too loud or they’ll call you out and remove you’.
Farrell, pictured on set with Gleeson, says he had a few mishaps with the animals“I won’t bore you with the gratitude that I live in for how I am able to make a living. It’s astonishing to me that I get to have gone to the places I’ve gone to in the world, that I get to tell the stories I’ve been a part of telling, get to work with the people that I’ve worked with.”
Farrell, who has previously admitted battling drink and drugs, told how he had a wobble after his 2003 film Alexander flopped.
The Oliver Stone movie, which also starred Angelina Jolie, had been expected to clean up during awards season – but it just didn’t happen.
Farrell recalled: “We all had our tuxedos ready… I’m not even joking. We were like, ‘Right, we’re off to the Oscars’.
“But the reviews came out, we were up in Toronto, and I remember my sister Claudine going, ‘It’s not good’. I was, like, ‘Holy sh**’. I felt so much shame… I really did. I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’
Gleeson and Farrell in their first film together, In Bruges (Photo: Jaap Buitendijk")“I found myself in a place where everyone I met, I wanted to go, ‘Have you seen Alexander? If so, I am really sorry’.
“After that, I did question things… I went, ‘I’m sh** at it. I’m just a crap actor. I’ve been found out’.”
But Farrell, who has been sober since 2006, went on to earn widespread acclaim for playing a rookie hitman in 2008’s In Bruges – and even won a Golden Globe award for Best Actor.
Colin Farrell as Danny and Kate McEnery as Emma in Ballykissangel (BBC)Tomorrow, he will go head-to-head with Austin Butler (Elvis), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande), Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Bill Nighy (Living) for the Leading Actor gong at the BAFTAs.
But while the star is passionate about his work, he admits his glitzy lifestyle has had an impact on his family – especially his sons James, 19, who he shares with ex Kim Bordenave, and 13-year-old Henry, whose mother is actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus.
“You’re financially compensated and all that jazz but I fear those I love have paid the price,” he said. “Particularly my kids.
Farrell in the critically panned Alexander
The actor with his Desert Palm Achievement Award for The Banshees of Inisherin (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“I’m on the road quite a bit so there’s a kind of price to be paid in that way.
“I’m not expecting anyone to weep any tears, by the way, when they listen to this… it’s just a fact of life.
“I’ve missed funerals, missed weddings, missed the burials of people I care about and all that kind of stuff. I missed the birth of my first born… thank God I was there for the birth of my second.”
The usually private star added: “Maybe I am not a great father but I’m fairly attentive when I’m at home. Maybe I wouldn’t be as attentive if I was home all the time, not to put a silver lining on it.
“Honest to God, maybe that concession and compromise is a blessing in disguise. But Jesus, what a gorgeous position to be in – to be able to be telling stories 20 years later.”
The EE BAFTA Film awards, tomorrow night, BBC1, 7pm
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