Patron: Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell and Irish Film London

"I am delighted to support the Irish Film Festival London and the great work that they do to champion Irish filmmakers and cinematic talent in the UK... They give Irish talent the crucial opportunity to be seen on screen in one of the film industry’s most important cities, and I am proud to be a part of it." - Colin Farrell on joining Irish Film London

Colin Farrell became Irish Film London’s third patron in 2018, joining Ros Hubbard and Lenny Abrahamson in his support for the organisation.

Who is Colin Farrell?

Colin is one of Ireland’s leading actors. He first made waves appearing in the BBC drama Ballykissangel in 1998, made his film debut in the Tim Roth-directed drama The War Zone in 1999, and was discovered by Hollywood when Joel Schumacher cast him in the lead role in the war drama Tigerland in 2000.

He followed these up with Schumacher's psychological thriller Phone Booth (2002), and the American thrillers S.W.A.T. (2003) and The Recruit (2003). And he firmly established his Hollywood appeal starring in Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller Minority Report (2002), and appearing as the villain Bullseye in the superhero film Daredevil (2003).

Award winning

After starring in the independent films Intermission (2003) and A Home at the End of the World (2004), Farrell headed Oliver Stone's biopic Alexander (2004) and Terrence Malick's The New World (2005). Roles in Michael Mann's Miami Vice (2006), the adaptation of John Fante's Ask the Dust (2006), and Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream (2007) followed, underscoring Farrell's popularity among Hollywood writers and directors.

However, it was his role in Martin McDonagh's In Bruges (2008) that earned him a Hollywood Foreign Press Association Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Hollywood action to independent comedy

Farrell starred in the black comedy film Horrible Bosses (2011), for which he received critical praise, along with the comedy-horror film Fright Night (2011) and the sci-fi action film Total Recall (2012), both remakes, and McDonagh's second feature, the black comedy crime film Seven Psychopaths (2012). He also starred in the Niels Arden Oplev action film Dead Man Down (2013), and as Travers Goff in the period drama Saving Mr. Banks (2013).

In 2014, Farrell starred as Peter Lake in the supernatural fable Winter's Tale, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mark Helprin. In 2015, he starred as Detective Ray Velcoro in the second season of HBO's True Detective, and also starred in the film The Lobster, for which he was nominated for his second Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In 2016, he portrayed Percival Graves in the Harry Potter spin-off film Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. 2017 brought a reunion with Yorgos Lanthimos for the lead in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which was then followed by The Beguiled and Roman J. Israel, Esq. 2019 saw Farrell play Tom Mulligan in Widows, directed by Steve McQueen and Holt Farrier in Tim Burton’s Dumbo.

Recent Work

2022 has been a busy year for Farrel, starring alongside Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz in The Batman, with two other film releases expected later this year, The Banshees of Inisherin and Thirteen Lives. The Batman saw Farrel in the much loved villian role of The Penguin. The Banshees of Inisherin, directed by Martin McDonagh, will see Farrel return to Ireland. This Irish drama follows the conflict that arises between two friends when one fo them aburpting ends their friendship with alarming consequences for both of them. In a different direction, Farrel will also be starring in Thirteen Lives directed by Ron Hubbard is biographical surival drama chronicling the events of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue that saw a junior football team and their coach trapped in a cave for a period of 18 days.