Colin Farrell has recalled his audition for Boyzone in the early nineties when he was 17, saying that he was in the band's original line-up but then got a phone call telling him he was "tone deaf" and was out.
The Dublin-born actor appeared on the first episode of the new season of The Late Late Show on Friday night alongside Margot Robbie, his co-star in new road trip movie A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.
The film includes a scene where Farrell shows off his talents as a singer and a dancer.
"He can actually sing and dance!" said Robbie.
"I couldn’t get into Boyzone." quipped Farrell. "I sang Careless Whisper twice at the audition; the second time was because they couldn’t believe how bad the first one was.
"I was in an Irish newspaper with the band and it was all happening and then I got a call saying, 'sorry, man. You’re tone deaf’."
On Friday’s show, Robbie recalled an impromptu trip to Dublin where she ended up in a lock-in in Temple Bar.
"Many years ago, when I was living in a shared house in London, it wasn’t unusual to wake up to find random people in the house because we had a lot of parties back then," she told host Patrick Kielty.
"Anyway, there were these four Canadian backpackers in our courtyard and I was like 'hi, who are you?' And they said they’d met one of my roommates while they were backpacking in Thailand and he said we could crash and shower here for the day,
"They were off to Dublin. Then I got a call from work telling me I didn’t need to come in and do my scenes until Friday so me and my roommate said we’d come to Ireland with you.
"So, we did. We got to Dublin, went to Temple Bar, had a lock-in, it was amazing. The best time ever. I love Dublin."
Speaking about working with Robbie for the first time, Farrell said, "It’s really easy working with this one. We shared stories from our own past and it was easy from day one."
"It was the exact same for me. I’d heard nothing but amazing stories about Colin," his co-star said. "I’d always really wanted to work with him; he’s in some of my favourite films. The way everyone in the industry speaks about him - behind and in front of the camera - he’s just the best guy, the nicest guy, so down to earth."
She added, "I was in a place where I really didn’t want to take on another job. I’d just done Barbie and I thought - god, the world must be so sick of the sight of me but then this came along and it was so original and magical and it was with Colin so . . . "
Asked to explain what A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is about, Farrell said, "The movie is about how we are all haunted by our own past and we seem to move through life blaming people for the things that don’t work out when it fact we all have a lot of say and we’ve played a big part in the moments in our lives that didn’t quite lead us to living the life we wished we could live.
"So, it’s about regret and reconciling ourselves to events in our lives that we very formative - all in really entertaining way! It’s a romantic comedy with dramatic connotations. It is full of hope and healing. There is something in there for everyone."
You can watch Friday’s Late Late Show on the RTÉ Player
