Colin James Farrell (/ˈfærəl/; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor.
Farrell appeared 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 as the lead
in the war drama Tigerland in 2000. He then played the outlaw Jesse
James in the film American Outlaws with a young ensemble cast, with
Gabriel Macht as brother Frank as well as Ali Larter, Scott Caan, and
Timothy Dalton. He then starred in Schumacher's psychological thriller
Phone Booth (2003) where he plays a hostage in a New York city phone
booth, and the American thrillers S.W.A.T. (2003) and The Recruit
(2003), establishing his international box-office appeal. During that
time, he also appeared in Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller
Minority Report (2002) and as the villain Bullseye in the superhero
film Daredevil (2003).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 â€" Motion Picture
Musical or 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 Tom Hanks/Emma Thompson quasi-biopic Saving Mr. Banks
(2013) playing (in flashbacks) the quixotic father of “Mary
Poppins†author P.L. Travers. 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 â€" Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy. In 2016, he played Percival Graves in the Harry Potter
spin-off film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In 2020, he was
listed at number 5 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film
actors. Farrell has been cast as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin in The
Batman which is set for a 2021 release and which is intended to begin
a new trilogy set apart from the DC Extended Universe.
Farrell appeared 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 as the lead
in the war drama Tigerland in 2000. He then played the outlaw Jesse
James in the film American Outlaws with a young ensemble cast, with
Gabriel Macht as brother Frank as well as Ali Larter, Scott Caan, and
Timothy Dalton. He then starred in Schumacher's psychological thriller
Phone Booth (2003) where he plays a hostage in a New York city phone
booth, and the American thrillers S.W.A.T. (2003) and The Recruit
(2003), establishing his international box-office appeal. During that
time, he also appeared in Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller
Minority Report (2002) and as the villain Bullseye in the superhero
film Daredevil (2003).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 â€" Motion Picture
Musical or 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 Tom Hanks/Emma Thompson quasi-biopic Saving Mr. Banks
(2013) playing (in flashbacks) the quixotic father of “Mary
Poppins†author P.L. Travers. 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 â€" Motion Picture Musical or
Comedy. In 2016, he played Percival Graves in the Harry Potter
spin-off film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. In 2020, he was
listed at number 5 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film
actors. Farrell has been cast as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin in The
Batman which is set for a 2021 release and which is intended to begin
a new trilogy set apart from the DC Extended Universe.
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