A native of Dublin, Ireland, Colin Farrell began turning heads in Hollywood when he starred in Joel Schumacher's Tigerland, the story of American soldiers taken to the backwoods of Louisiana in 1971 to play war games in preparation for their first tour of duty in Vietnam. He garnered a Best Actor Award from the Boston Society of Film Critics for his portrayal of Bozz, a roughneck Texan recruit who helps his boot-camp buddies avoid Vietnam combat. Farrell also starred alongside Kevin Spacey in Thaddeus O'Sullivan's Dublin gangster movie Ordinary Decent Criminal. It was Spacey who suggested him for the part after catching Farrell's riveting performance in the play "In a Little World of Our Own" at the Donmar Warehouse in London.

Born on May 31, 1976, Farrell studied acting at the Gaiety School of Drama in Dublin and had established himself as a recognizable talent back home with a starring role in the BBC series Ballykissangel and Deirdre Purcell's miniseries Falling for a Dancer, in addition to a featured role in Tim Roth's directorial debut, The War Zone. After "Tigerland", Farrell took on the role of Jesse James in American Outlaws. Farrell then had a starring role in Phone Booth, reuniting him with director Schumacher. He also co-starred with Bruce Willis in Hart's War, which was shot on location in Prague, Czech Republic. Along the way Farrell has managed to work with legendary directors such as Steven Spielberg in Minority Report. All this has happened for Colin by the age of 25, making him one of Hollywood's A-list young actors.


Miami Vice (2006): $10,000,000
Alexander (2004): $10,000,000
S.W.A.T. (2003): $8,000,000
The Recruit (2003): $5,000,000
Minority Report (2002): $2,500,000
Hart's War (2002): $2,500,000
American Outlaws (2001): $2,000,000

Son of Irish football player, Eamon Farrell. The youngest of the four children, he has one brother Eamon Farrell and two sisters: Catherine Farrell and Claudine Farrell. Ranked #98 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. It is his first appearance on the list. His mother, Rita, forced him to take dancing lessons once his brother, Emmon Farrell Jr., started them. Emmon Jr. also got him into acting by attending an acting school and later recommending it to Colin. His girlfriend, model Kim Bordenave, gave birth to a 7lb. 9oz. baby boy called James Padraig. He was born on Friday September 12th, 2003 in a Los Angeles hospital. One of his favourites books is "When Nietzsche wept" by Irvin D. Yalom. He says that growing up, one of his childhood idols was Al Pacino. He got the chance to work opposite his hero in The Recruit (2003) (an experience he described as "scary as hell to work opposite a legend," even though he says Pacino was one of the kindest men he'd ever met and says they still hang out together). He has two tattoos on his left forearm. The first one is the words "Carpe Diem" (Latin for "Seize the day"). Beside this tattoo there is a second tattoo, which is a black cross. Daredevil (2003) marks the first time he has been able to use his own Irish accent in an American movie. Played soccer during his youth. Treated for exhaustion and dependency on prescription medication in December 2005. The medication was prescribed to the actor after a back injury, publicist Danica Smith said in a written statement, which revealed Farrell had checked himself into an undisclosed treatment center. "No other comments (are) to be made at this time," the statement said. His acting idols and influences are Al Pacino, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, James Caan, and Marlon Brando. Was accompanied by Britney Spears to the S.W.A.T. (2003) US- premiere. Resides in Dublin and Los Angeles. His son James has Angelman Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. When he and his In Bruges (2008) co-star Brendan Gleeson both got nominated for Golden Globes, he bet Brendan twenty dollars that he [Colin] would win if any of them won at all. He and his girlfriend, Alicja Bachleda, became the parents of a boy, Henry Tadeusz Farrell, on October 7, 2009 in Los Angeles. Met girlfriend Alicja Bachleda on the set of Ondine (2009).