It’s a long way from Ballykissangel to Tinseltown - and if there’s one man who would know, it’s Colin Farrell.
The Castleknock native was just 22 years old when he made his screen acting debut as local rogue Danny Byrne in the twee BBC drama; it’s safe to say that he’s come up in the world since then.
In fact, despite the odd dodgy role over the last two decades, Farrell is now celebrated as one of our most versatile actors, as proven in his remarkable turn as Oswald 'Oz’ Cobb in new DC Studios' new TV series The Penguin.
To mark the release of The Penguin, we’ve compiled ten of Farrell’s best roles to date...
1. MINORITY REPORT (2002)
Farrell’s first big Hollywood role was in Joel Schumacher’s war drama Tigerland in 2000 - despite that film bombing, Farrell was praised for his performance. By the time 2002’s Minority Report came around, he was well on his way to stardom. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring opposite Tom Cruise, Farrell stepped up to the mark in the sci-fi thriller as Danny Witwer, a government agent who is part of a cover-up involving clairvoyant humans known as ‘pre-cogs’. The film may be remembered for Cruise’s dabblings with those cool futuristic screens, but Irish audiences were too busy proudly shouting ‘Hey! That’s our guy!’
2. PHONE BOOTH (2002)
It may not go down as a cinematic work of art, but Phone Booth was one of those good old-fashioned popcorn thrillers. Reuniting with Joel Schumacher once again, Farrell played Stuart Shepherd, a highly unlikeable publicist who is conducting an affair with a client. When he makes the mistake of using a phone booth (ask your parents, kids) to contact his paramour, he unwittingly becomes drawn into a chilling negotiation with a sniper - who demands that he either confess his misdeeds to both his wife and his lover, or he dies. The film was a hit, and proved that Farrell was more than capable of holding his own in a Hollywood blockbuster.
3. INTERMISSION (2003)
Tea and brown sauce? F**kin’ delish, man. One of Farrell’s earliest Irish film roles remains one of his most enduring - partly because of his revolting tea-drinking habits, but also because of his innate comic timing. In Mark O’Rowe’s crime comedy, under the direction of John Crowley, Farrell played the hapless small-time hoodlum Lehiff - who introduces himself with aplomb in the first scene by flirting with a shop cashier before punching her in the face and stealing the till. Pitted opposite Colm Meaney as the dour Garda Detective who becomes entangled in a kidnap-gone-awry (and an equally brilliant Cillian Murphy), he played the hapless Lehiff to perfection. Who would’ve thought that twenty years later, he and Murphy would be two of the biggest stars in Hollywood?
4. IN BRUGES (2008)
Surely one of the finest black comedies in Irish film history? Farrell’s pairing opposite Brendan Gleeson was a stroke of casting genius; they would later go on to star together in The Banshees of Inisherin, but their chemistry in their first collaboration with Martin McDonagh was undeniable. Playing the foil to Gleeson’s weary straight man, Farrell was superb as one of two gormless Irish hitmen sent to the ‘boring’ city of Bruges to hide out after a botched job. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a lot, actually…
5. THE LOBSTER (2015)
Farrell’s first collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos uncovered a different facet of his acting abilities. By that stage, he had already nailed the ‘leading man in a blockbuster’ category, and between 2009 and 2014 many of his choices were either big comedies like Horrible Bosses, big action films like Total Recall or big family movies like Saving Mr. Banks. Working with Lanthimos on a surrealist story about a man who must find the love of his life within 45 days, or else spend the rest of his life as a lobster was certainly an interesting choice. Farrell brought tenderness and humour to an enjoyably absurd story.
6. KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (2017)
Just two years later, Farrell would work with Lanthimos again on this infinitely darker film. He played open heart surgeon Steven Murphy, who one day crosses paths with Martin (Barry Keoghan) - a peculiar teenager whose father died several years earlier. As Martin inserts himself deeper and deeper into Steven’s life, things take a chilling turn as the teen presents him with a grim ultimatum. Keoghan may have gotten all the plaudits for his chilling performance, but Farrell was equally superb as the high-flying career man hiding a shameful secret. The ending of this unnerving film lingers long after the final shot.
7. THE NORTH WATER (2021)
Farrell has not done a huge amount of television work throughout his career, so there’s every likelihood that his role in this overlooked gem of a series may have passed you by. It is, dare we say it, one of his finest acting roles to date. In Andrew Haigh’s five-part mini-series (based on Ian McGuire’s 2016 novel about an ill-fated whaling expedition in 1859), he played the hateful Henry Drax - a murdering, mentally unstable rapist who is the ship’s harpoonist, and who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. For all the charmers and chancers he’s played in the past, it turns out that Farrell is actually a brilliant baddie, too.
8. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2022)
Farrell’s third film with Martin McDonagh (he also featured in 2012’s Seven Psychopaths) proved to be his biggest hit to date, earning him the most awards and nominations of his career, including a Golden Globe. He was undeniably excellent as Pádraic Súilleabháin, who is left bewildered after his lifelong pal and drinking buddy Colm decides to abruptly end their friendship. We could watch Farrell and Gleeson in pretty much anything, but this was a high point for both actors - particularly Farrell, whose eyebrows deserve their own award in this film.
9. SUGAR (2024)
Although Andrew Scott may have bagged the 2024 ‘Irish actor in moodily-shot TV series’ crown for his turn in Ripley, Farrell gave him a run for his money in Sugar. As he approaches the age of 50, he has settled into these more understated, meaty roles beautifully. Here, he plays LA-based private detective John Sugar, who is hired by legendary Hollywood film producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell) to investigate the disappearance of his granddaughter. Needless to say, it’s not a straightforward case. Is it ever? It wasn’t Farrell’s first time in that seedy detective world, having previously starred in Season 2 of True Detective with Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams - but he proved a commanding presence amid an often convoluted storyline here.
10. THE PENGUIN (2024)
We first met Oz Cobb in Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman, where we oohed and aahed at the stunning physical transformation that Farrell underwent for the role of the iconic villain. In this spin-off TV series, he comes into his own as the nefarious Penguin, expanding on his backstory and his rise to power in Gotham. Farrell may have been dismissed as a pretty boy early in his career, but here, he inhabits a grotesque character with presence and experience that only three decades of eclectic roles could engender. From the distinctive walk to the accent, he made the character his own.
The Penguin is currently screening on Sky and Now TV
