Colin Farrell has hit some high highs during his career and some low lows ( Alexander the Great , anyone?).
Maybe it’s the luck of the Irish, but the Irish actor always manages to land back on his feet.
He’s even starring as The Penguin in the upcoming The Batman movie (he looks unrecognizable in the teaser trailer!). For more about him, check out these 10+ random facts.
1. He’s Irish:
He grew up in Castleknock, which is middle-class Dublin.
“It wasn’t very cultured. I remember wishing there were more stories about Ireland and more music in the house. It wasn’t a household where we were brought to the theatre…” he said to The Irish Times .
2. He has two sons:
He has his first son, James Padraig with model Kim Bordenave, and his second son, Henry, with his ex, Alicja Bachleda-Curus.
Both are his entire world, as he blows off steam by hanging out with them.
3. He had to grow a mustache for ‘True Detective’ and ‘The Lobster’:
He told Marie Claire UK :
“In True Detective I was able to shave it off after the first three episodes, and it felt great! In The Lobster the moustache was a little more simple so it was easier to maintain.”
4. If he didn’t become an actor, he wanted to play sports:
He even played football until he was 14.
“I started off as a striker and ended up in goal. It was a good representation of how impatient I could be. I couldn’t stay in one place.” he said to CN Traveller.
5. He loves massages:
This comes from his love to be touched .
“I’m a big hugger. I love a good hug and a two-handed handshake that nearly turns into a handhold. I also like saunas.” he continued to say to CN Traveller.
“There is a Russian bathhouse that I go to in Los Angeles,” he continued.
“It’s a nice way to kill a couple of hours because life can be hectic. To go somewhere for a while and sit in a quiet space, it’s therapeutic.”
6. He knows that his worst movie is *Alexander the Great*:
He told the Irish Times that the wound has finally healed, 15 years later.
“I have learned again that the smallest violin in the world should not play for some of the hurt and the agitation I have had as a result of reading copious negative things about myself.”
After it bombed, he got incredibly drunk and fled to Lake Tahoe.
While there, he wore a ski mask so people wouldn’t recognize his face.
“Where can I wear a ski mask and not actually be put against the wall by a bunch of SWAT cops?” he told The New York Times .
After this, film studios even stopped calling.
“You don’t want to make [expletive] films,” he said to the Irish Times .
“You really don’t. I certainly don’t and I have made some real turkeys.” Thankfully, he eventually landed on his feet with some independent films.
7. He’s struggled with addiction:
The actor hit a low point after his career stalled for a while.
“I was such a pisshead and a druggie I didn’t have many friends,” he told Irish Times . “I would just go out with who was around at the time.”
Eventually, in 2006, he entered rehab.
“I had just had it, man. I was done,” he told Independant.ie .
“For a long time I put the brakes on. For a long time. I could go mad for three, six months, and then I could pull back for a few months to try to re-enter the atmosphere. I couldn’t find the handbrake.”
8. He’s been removing some of his tattoos:
As it turns out, he’s not the only celeb to do so.
He told The Late Late Show last year that the tattoos have been making his career as an actor more difficult.
“I’m getting rid of them because I got tired of getting painted in the makeup chair anytime I wear a T-shirt,” he said.
“It buys me an extra 45 minutes of sleep in the morning. Obviously, none of them had that much significance to me that I would choose 45 minutes over my own history!”
9. He loves to cook:
Given his Irish background, this does include Irish stew and homemade Irish bread.
He also loves cheeseburgers, pizza, and chocolate, but all in moderation. “I do have watch what I eat.”
10. He loves fitness:
When he shot Total Recall , he had to put on some muscle.
“That was for a film but mostly I just try to take good care of myself,” he told Marie Claire UK .
“I enjoy eating well and doing yoga which makes me feel fit. I try to hike as much as possible – something LA is great for.”
11. He’s set to star in the new *Batman* movie:
He’ll be playing The Penguin and was even filming in London before the lockdown started.
“I’m not allowed to say much about Batman but I will say that it’s great to be part of the whole Gotham City universe,” he told the Irish Mirror .
“As a kid, I loved the Batman TV show and then in my teens I saw Tim Burton’s version and loved it.”
He continued:
“I love what Chris Nolan did with that world. I am not all over the movie but I do have some tasty scenes and I really can’t wait to get back into it.”
12. He’s been isolating during the COVID pandemic all alone:
“I had just come back from London when the lockdown started in March and I was completely alone in this house for two whole weeks,” he told the Irish Mirror .
Sadly, he has not even be able to see his two children.
“I don’t have a partner and my two children were with their moms. I remember after about nine or 10 days, feeling the absence of touch in my life.”
