Category: Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell appeared downcast as he grabbed coffee in Los Feliz, California, on Friday, following his emotional revelation about the decision to place his son in a long-term care facility.

The actor, 48, who is currently filming Series 2 of his Apple TV+ show Sugar, was spotted picking up three coffees from a local cafe in his neighbourhood.

He kept things casual in a deep V-neck T-shirt and plaid trousers, teamed with Adidas trainers. 

Colin finished the look with a camouflage headband and delicate gold and silver jewellery.

He appeared low in mood as he stood with his arms crossed, waiting by the coffee window before collecting his order. 

His outing comes after Colin revealed the reason behind his decision to place his adult disabled son into care – explaining that he wants to ensure his son’s care is properly managed while he and his ex-partner are still alive, and to provide him with a strong sense of community.

Colin Farrell appeared downcast as he was spotted grabbing coffee in Los Feliz, California, on Friday

His outing comes following his emotional revelation about the decision to place his son James (pictured) in a long-term care facility

The actor appeared low in mood as he stood with his arms crossed, waiting by the coffee window before collecting his order

The actor previously explained how son James, 21, was heartbreakingly misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy before doctors eventually confirmed he was suffering from Angelman syndrome.

Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system, causes severe physical and intellectual disability.

Speaking to Candis Magazine, Colin revealed he and his ex Kim Bordenave have made a decision and plan to settle James into a long-term care facility.

He said: ‘It’s tricky, some parents will say: “I want to take care of my child myself.” And I respect that.

‘But my horror would be… What if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James’ mother, Kim, has a car crash and she’s taken too – and then James is on his own?

‘Then he’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it.’

He and Kim are hoping to ‘find somewhere we like where he can go now, while we’re still alive and healthy, that we can go and visit, and we can take him out sometimes’.

Colin continued: ‘We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected.’

Angelman syndrome is a rare neuro-genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system, and causes severe physical and intellectual disability (pictured: Colin and James)

Colin – who shares James with ex Kim Bordenave – explained many sufferers of the syndrome are often misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy due to the conditions having similar symptoms 

The Phone Booth actor previously discussed his first-born son’s condition and said medical advice was sought after James missed developmental milestones and struggled to sit up or crawl as a baby.

Colin explained how many sufferers of the rare syndrome are often misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy due to both conditions having similar symptoms.

He told People: ‘[James] couldn’t sit up. He wasn’t crawling. I think he was a year and a half when we took him to get really checked out, and he was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.’

Cerebral palsy is the name for a set of conditions affecting movement and co-ordination stemming from a problem with the brain that takes place before, during or soon after birth.

Difficulty speaking, swallowing or seeing — along with learning difficulties — can also be symptoms. 

Colin said: ‘It was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure.’ 

The Oscar nominee revealed that, when James was only about two and a half years old, a pediatric neurologist suggested he be tested for Angelman syndrome.

Recalling the moment he received the diagnosis, he shared: ‘I remember the first two questions I asked were, “What’s the life expectancy and how much pain is involved?”

‘And the doctor said, “Life expectancy, as far as we can tell, is the same for you and for me, and pain, no.”‘

A doctor had noticed an unusual symptom that prompted him to test for Angelman syndrome.

Colin explained: ‘One of the characteristics of Angelman syndrome is outbreaks of laughter. And the doctor saw that James was laughing a lot and doing this movement [he waves his hands],’ the father-of-two shared.

Angelman syndrome is also characterized by seizures, which Colin – who also shares son Henry Tadeusz, 15, with Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus, 41 – said is ‘one of the things that parents struggle with greatly’.

He added: ‘Thankfully, James hasn’t had a breakthrough seizure now in about 10 or 11 years, but I’ve been in the back of ambulances, I’ve been in the hospital with him.

He said: ‘It was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure’ (pictured: James with his mother Kim)

The Oscar nominee (pictured, with younger son Henry in 2023) revealed that when James was only about two and a half years old, a pediatric neurologist suggested he be tested for Angelman syndrome

‘I’ve done Diastat [a sedative] up his rectum to get him out of a seizure that lasted longer than three minutes. Finding the right amount of medication that doesn’t have adverse effects — that’s all very tricky business.’

The actor is now launching the Colin Farrell Foundation to provide support, education, and advocacy for adults with intellectual disabilities.

‘This is the first time I’ve spoken about it, and obviously the only reason I’m speaking is I can’t ask James if he wants to do this,’ he said.

The proud dad stated that his eldest son ‘has worked so hard all his life, so hard’.

He said: ‘Repetition, repetition, balance, his jerky gait. When he started feeding himself for the first time, his face looks like a Jackson Pollock by the end of it. But he gets it in, he feeds himself beautifully. I’m proud of him every day, because I just think he’s magic.’

Colin also described watching his son take his first steps just before his fourth birthday.

Detailing the ‘profound’ moment to People, Colin said: ‘I knew they [James’s carers] were working on walking. And I stood over there, and she let him go, and he just came to [me].

Colin and James’s mother Kim, 52, (pictured, in 2003 in Los Angeles) dated from 2001 to 2003

He shares his younger son Henry with Ondine co-star, Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus (pictured, in 2010) whom he dated from from approximately late 2008 to early 2010

‘It was so profound. It was magic.

‘I’ll never forget just the face of determination on him as he walked toward me. He took, like, six steps, and I burst into tears.’

James’s condition is severe enough that he is nonverbal and requires the help of a live-in caregiver to accomplish his day-to-day tasks.

When James was four, Colin went public with his Angelman Syndrome, saying his son had demonstrated ‘amazing courage’ in the face of his condition.

Shortly before James turned 18, Colin and Kim filed to obtain a conservatorship of him, noting he still needed help with tasks like getting dressed and making meals.

He later went on to reveal that he and James’s mother make sure to share in the smallest victories and enjoy the milestones whatever age they happen – including James’s first words aged six, being able to feed himself at 19, and getting his seizures under control.

Colin has maintained a very private life and has not spoken about his son in great detail until recently, although he told InStyle he first decided to ‘talk publicly about the pride and joy I had in our son’ while attending the 2007 Special Olympics.

He said: ‘He has enriched my life, but I don’t want to minimize the trials that so many families go through; the fear, consternation, frustration, and pain… When you’re the parent of a child with special needs, it’s important to feel that you’re not alone.’

Discussing being a parent to a child with disabilities, the Hollywood star said that James was the main reason he was able to get sober.

Colin and James’s mother Kim dated from 2001 to 2003. He later had Henry with his Ondine co-star Alicja, whom he dated from from approximately late 2008 to early 2010.

Colin Farrell has revealed the reason he’s planning on putting his disabled son into a long-term care facility.

The actor previously revealed how son James, 21, was heartbreakingly misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy before doctors eventually confirmed he was suffering from Angelman syndrome.

Angelman syndrome is a rare neuro-genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system, and causes severe physical and intellectual disability.

Speaking to Candis Magazine, Colin revealed that he and his ex Kim Bordenave have made a decision and plan to settle James settled in a long-term care facility.

He said: ‘It’s tricky, some parents will say: “I want to take care of my child myself.”  And I respect that.

‘But my horror would be… What if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James’ mother, Kim, has a car crash and she’s taken too – and then James is on his own?

Colin Farrell has revealed how his James was misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy before doctors eventually confirmed he was suffering from Angelman syndrome

The Phone Booth actor said medical advice was sought after James missed developmental milestones and struggled to sit up or crawl as a baby

‘Then he’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it.’

He and Kim are hoping to ‘find somewhere we like where he can go now, while we’re still alive and healthy, that we can go and visit, and we can take him out sometimes’.

Colin continued: ‘We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected.’

The Phone Booth actor previously discussed his first-born son’s condition interview and said medical advice was sought after James missed developmental milestones and struggled to sit up or crawl as a baby.  

Colin explained how many sufferers of the rare syndrome are often misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy due to both conditions having similar symptoms. 

He told People: ‘[James] couldn’t sit up. He wasn’t crawling. I think he was a year and a half when we took him to get really checked out, and he was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy’. 

Angelman syndrome is a rare neuro-genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system, and causes severe physical and intellectual disability 

Cerebral palsy is the name for a set of conditions affecting movement and co-ordination stemming from a problem with the brain that takes place before, during or soon after birth.

Difficulty speaking, swallowing or seeing — along with learning difficulties — can also be symptoms. 

Colin said: ‘It was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure.’ 

The Oscar nominee revealed that only when James was about two and a half years old, that a pediatric neurologist suggested he be tested for Angelman syndrome.

Recalling the moment he received the diagnosis, he shared: ‘I remember the first two questions I asked were, “What’s the life expectancy and how much pain is involved?”‘

‘And the doctor said, “Life expectancy, as far as we can tell, is the same for you and for me, and pain, no.”‘ 

A doctor had noticed an unusual symptom that prompted him to test for Angelman syndrome.

With Colin explaining: ‘One of the characteristics of Angelman syndrome is outbreaks of laughter. And the doctor saw that James was laughing a lot and doing this movement [he waves his hands],’ the father-of-two shared.

Colin – who shares James with ex Kim Bordenave – explained how many sufferers of the rare syndrome are often misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy due to both conditions having similar symptoms 

Colin said: ‘It was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure (James pictured with his mother Kim)

The Oscar nominee revealed that only when James was about two and a half years old, that a pediatric neurologist suggested he be tested for Angelman syndrome (Seen with younger son Henry, 15, in 2023)

Angelman syndrome is also characterized by seizures, which Colin – who also shares who also shares son Henry Tadeusz, 15, with Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus, 41 – said is ‘one of the things that parents struggle with greatly.’

He added: ‘Thankfully, James hasn’t had a breakthrough seizure now in about 10 or 11 years, but I’ve been in the back of ambulances, I’ve been in the hospital with him. I’ve done Diastat [a sedative] up his rectum to get him out of a seizure that lasted longer than three minutes. Finding the right amount of medication that doesn’t have adverse effects — that’s all very tricky business.’

The actor is now launching the Colin Farrell Foundation to provide support, education, and advocacy for adults with intellectual disabilities.

‘This is the first time I’ve spoken about it, and obviously the only reason I’m speaking is I can’t ask James if he wants to do this.’

The proud dad stated that his eldest son ‘has worked so hard all his life, so hard.’

‘Repetition, repetition, balance, his jerky gait. When he started feeding himself for the first time, his face looks like a Jackson Pollock by the end of it. But he gets it in, he feeds himself beautifully. I’m proud of him every day, because I just think he’s magic.’

Colin also described watching his son take his first steps just before his fourth birthday.

Detailing the ‘profound’ moment to People, Colin said: ‘I knew they [James’s carers] were working on walking. And I stood over there, and she let him go, and he just came to [me].

‘It was so profound. It was magic.’

‘I’ll never forget just the face of determination on him as he walked toward me. He took, like, six steps, and I burst into tears.’

James’ condition is severe enough that he is nonverbal and requires the help of a live-in caregiver to accomplish his day-to-day tasks.

When James was four, Colin went public with his Angelman Syndrome, saying his son had demonstrated ‘amazing courage’ in the face of his condition.

Shortly before James turned 18, Colin and Kim filed to obtain a conservatorship of him, noting he still needed help with tasks like getting dressed and making meals. 

He later went on to reveal that he and James’ mother make sure to share in the smallest victories’ and enjoy the milestones whatever age they happen – including James’ the first words at age six , being able to feed himself at 19, and getting his seizures under control.

Colin has maintained a very private life and has not spoken about his son in great detail until recently although he told InStyle he first decided ‘talk publicly about the pride and joy I had in our son’ while attending the 2007 Special Olympics.’

Colin and James’ mom Kim, 52, dated from 2001 to 2003; seen in 2003 in Los Angeles

He shares his younger son Henry with Ondine co-star, Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus, 41, whom he dated from from approximately late 2008 to early 2010; they are seen in 2010

He said: ‘He has enriched my life, but I don’t want to minimize the trials that so many families go through; the fear, consternation, frustration, and pain… When you’re the parent of a child with special needs, it’s important to feel that you’re not alone.’ 

Discussing being a parent to a child with disabilities the Hollywood star said that James was the main reason he was able to get sober. 

Colin and James’ mom Kim dated from 2001 to 2003. He later had Henry with his Ondine co-star Alicja, whom he dated from from approximately late 2008 to early 2010. 

Colin Farrell’s father Eamon has passed away after a long illness, it was announced on Wednesday.

The former Shamrock Rovers footballer is survived by his wife Eileen, who he married in 2016, and his children Eamon, Catherine, Claudine and actor Colin, 48. 

Eamon, who was 83, died in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on April 9 surrounded by his family.

His death notice reads that he ‘passed peacefully, after a long illness bravely borne, in the loving care of his family and the excellent staff of the Whitworth Ward’.

It continued: ‘Beloved husband of Eileen, loving father of Eamon, Catherine, Claudine and Colin and beloved brother of the late Tommy, Maureen and Sean.

‘Sadly missed by Rita, step-children William, Keith, Sandra, Aidan, Deborah, Karl, Ciarán and Gary, grandchildren James, Ellen, Henry, Stella and Oscar, in-laws and partners, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends.’ 

Colin Farrell’s dad Eamon has passed away after a long illness, it was announced on Wednesday

The former Shamrock Rovers footballer is survived by his wife Eileen, who he married in 2016, and his children Eamon, Catherine, Claudine and actor Colin, 48

His funeral mass will be held on April 12.

Colin was born to Rita and Eamon in Dublin before his parents split and both remarried.

Speaking in the past about being raised by Eamon and Rita, Colin said: ‘I was the baby, so I got away with more. My parents weren’t as hawkeyed with me and I think my older brother got the brunt of it and my sisters a little less.

‘They will all tell you I had the easiest time, but I don’t think it was because I was the favourite, I think just as a result of my parents’ fatigue!’

Colin had previously spoken of his dad’s career as a footballer saying: ‘My parents were both originally working class, but we were middle to upper class.

‘Dad played football till he was 26 or 27; after that he owned a fish-and-chip shop by a golf course, The Little Chip Inn. Honest to God. He never let us forget the wit of that.

‘Then he had a restaurant. He has a health-food store in Dublin called Down To Earth.’

Eamon played with the Shamrock Rovers alongside his brother Tommy during the 1960s.

Eamon, who was 83, died in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin on April 9 surrounded by his family

Colin spoke of his parents when he won the Best Male Actor gong at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role in The Penguin in February

Shamrock Rovers FC paid tribute to him on Wednesday saying: ‘Eamon joined Rovers in 1960 at 18 years of age from the famous schoolboy nursery club Home Farm’

Eamon was part of Rovers’ 1962 FAI Cup winning team, while Tommy won the League and Cup double in 1964.

Shamrock Rovers FC paid tribute to him on Wednesday saying: ‘Eamon joined Rovers in 1960 at 18 years of age from the famous schoolboy nursery club Home Farm.

‘A half back who was a minor and schoolboy Ireland international, Eamonn played alongside his older brother Tommy during his time at Milltown.

‘Both were on the team that beat Shelbourne in the FAI Cup final in 1962 played in front of an attendance of 32,000.’

Colin previously revealed his ambition as a youngster was to follow in the footsteps of his father in the Dublin football club.

The star, who played for his local team, Castleknock Celtic, as a teenager said: ‘I played until I was about 15 and I thought it was what I wanted to do. 

‘And then I realised I’d do something less meaningful – like acting.’

Colin spoke of his parents when he won the Best Male Actor gong at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role in The Penguin in February.

He said on stage: ‘Thanks to my mom, Rita, my dad, Eamon, and the two people in my life who have made my life so much more special and so much more meaningful, so much more joyful than I ever truly thought possible – my son James and my son, Henry.’

When people run into Colin Farrell and his elder son James near Colin’s home in Los Angeles, they will sometimes approach him to ask him what’s wrong with the young man.

‘And I always tell them about it,’ Colin says. ‘Maybe some people’s feelings are hurt by that question, but my feeling is, “If you want to know about it, just ask.” So if someone says, “Is that your son, what’s going on with him?” I’ll say, “I’ll tell you what’s going on with him…”’

What’s ‘going on’ with James Padraig Farrell, 21, Colin’s son with former girlfriend Kim Bordenave, an American model, is that he has Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder named after British paediatrician Harry Angelman, who identified it in 1965. It results in a happy personality but severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, with symptoms including seizures and difficulties with both speech and movement. It is incurable, and yes, says Colin, it is highly visible.

‘We all have significant struggles,’ he says. ‘But for most people they’ll be about emotional or psychological stuff, which is not to be sneezed at, it’s very serious. But if I look around me now, I wouldn’t know that anyone had struggles. Everyone looks healthy, everyone looks present. When James walks into the room you go, “Wow, what’s that dude got going on?” It’s significant.’

Colin Farrell with his son James, who has Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which results in a happy personality but severe intellectual and developmental disabilities

Before becoming a father, Farrell, an A-list movie star and legendary lover of both alcohol and women, had seemed to float free of the obstacles we lesser mortals must deal with

Until James came along, Colin’s life had been, by any measure, fairly free of challenges. Handsome, charming and happy-go-lucky, an A-list movie star and legendary lover of both alcohol and women, he seemed to float free of the obstacles we lesser mortals must deal with. He’s had a stellar movie career, most recently with 2022’s The Banshees Of Inisherin, which was nominated for nine Oscars, and he’s currently riding high on TV in the title role of the acclaimed but violent Batman spin-off The Penguin, in which he plays Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb, the brutally disfigured mobster who reinvents himself as a super-villain.

As The Penguin, Colin is barely recognisable under layers of prosthetics, and he has said that with the prosthetics and the dark side of his imagination he had to access to play the role, he found the experience quite a challenge. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I loved it,’ he told movie magazine Total Film. ‘But it got in on me a little bit… It’s not like I didn’t know who I was and I was going out and burning cars and s***, but… it was a really powerful experience.’

In 2003, when James was born, Colin and Kim both assumed parenthood would be smooth. ‘We thought he was perfect,’ Colin says, before quickly correcting himself. ‘Well, he is perfect, he’s a lovely young man, but we thought he was physically and neurologically perfect too. At first he was misdiagnosed as having cerebral palsy, which is common because cerebral palsy and Angelman syndrome share similar characteristics. But by the time he was two he was already having seizures, and I knew he had profound developmental delays.’

His son’s challenges made Colin look at life very differently. ‘You really do take nothing for granted,’ he told me once. ‘There’s a deep sense of fear – I’ve run through hospitals with James in my arms when he was having a seizure – but there’s also a deeper sense of love and respect. You know how a child’s first steps are a seminal moment in the life of the parent? Well, if you’ve been told there’s a chance your child will never walk at all, those steps take on a whole new meaning. They go into another realm.’

So Colin, who at one point estimated he was drinking three bottles of Jack Daniels, 12 bottles of red wine and 60 pints of beer per week, along with using various other substances, gave up drink and drugs. ‘James was two when I got sober,’ he says, ‘and part of the fuel that I used to get off alcohol and drugs and all that stuff was knowing he had health issues. All children need their parents – or a parent or grandparent or somebody – to care for them, and one of the things James taught me was to access within myself a desire to live, even if it was initially more about me thinking I wanted to live to be around for him.’

He talks less in public about his younger boy Henry, 15, son of another former partner, Polish actress and singer Alicja Bachleda-Curús, simply because there is less he feels he needs to say. But it’s clear he loves both sons equally. ‘Both my boys have taught me. I feel they’ve raised me more than I could ever raise them. That sounds twee but it’s true. Whatever man I am today has a lot to do with my parents and my upbringing, sure, but it’s also very much to do with what my boys have asked of me.’

But it’s James we are talking about today. Colin says he could not be more proud of him. ‘James is incredibly strong, brave and self-willed. He works so hard to achieve the physical capabilities that most of us nail by the time we’re two or three. But he’s lovely. He’s funny as f***, cheeky as anything. He’s got a smile that would light up Manhattan – he has such a gorgeous spirit and he’s loads of fun to be around.’

Nevertheless there are limits to communication with James, who is non-verbal. ‘I talk to him as I’m talking to you now, as if he’s a master at the King’s English. We have chats and all that but I don’t believe James has the level of comprehension some people say he does. I hope I’m not wrong, because there’s an awful lot of shame there. I want to meet him where I think he is – and I think he’s perfect as he is.’

Colin and Kim have remained in close contact throughout James’s life, and have agreed that, now he’s 21, it’s time for them to find him somewhere to live where he can be taken care of professionally.

Farrell with James’s mother, his former girlfriend Kim Bordenave. She is an American model 

The actor is barely recognisable as Oz Cobb in The Penguin. He said he found the experience quite a challenge

‘Some parents say, “I don’t want to put my child anywhere, I want to take care of my child myself.” And I respect that,’ he says. ‘But my horror would be, what if I have a heart attack tomorrow and, God forbid, Kim has a car crash in a month and she’s taken too? Then James is on his own. He’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it. He knows when somebody wants to be with him and when somebody’s just supposed to be with him. So if he has a carer or a teacher or a therapist and they’re not fully engaged he’ll just switch off. What his mother and I want is to find somewhere he can go, while we’re still alive and healthy, that we can visit and take him out. We want him to find somewhere he can have a full and happy life.’

Will it be traumatic for James? ‘I know my son. He’s had enough of me. He’s had enough of his mother – she’d say the same! He’s ready to get out of the house and go and have a bigger life than we can afford him, by having a sense of community he feels connected to, by going out every day, going to the supermarket and doing the shopping, going to the beach, museums, the movies, all that kind of stuff. Just a connected life.’

It was his and Kim’s horror at the lack of suitable facilities that inspired him to found the Colin Farrell Foundation, an organisation dedicated to helping families who have members with intellectual disabilities.

‘It’s been a struggle for us to find suitable residential care for James, and I thought, “If I’m having these difficulties what about all the other families out there that don’t have anything close to the means I have?” I’ve always known I wanted to do something about this, but until now I’ve been self-centredly busy raising my kids. Now I feel I have more space to do something.’

Among the first steps is a star-studded gala – with guests rumoured to include some of Colin’s Hollywood pals – to be held on 7 December in Chicago. ‘That’ll be our coming out into the community. A lot of the community will be there, and a lot of donors – there’ll be some big high-rollers there. In February I’m going to Washington to speak in front of the press. I’m also going to visit a couple of senators who have been kind enough to reach out.’

Would he care to divulge the political leanings of those senators? No, he would not. ‘I don’t give a f*** whether they’re Republican or Democrat because I’m neither – I won’t be cast as anything politically. Someone said to me about one senator, “But he’s a Republican.” I said, “Are you joking me?” None of this is about Republican or Democrat or liberal or conservative. This is about doing the right thing by our children.’

Gabrielle Donnelly

The Penguin, Monday, 9pm, Sky Atlantic and Now.

Colin Farrell talked about his difficulties playing Batman character The Penguin and admitted he is shallow and insecure during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

The 32nd series of the hit BBC talk show returns on Friday night with Colin sharing the red sofa with Lady Gaga, Demi Moore, and musicians Jack Savoretti and Miles Kane.

A regular on the show, Irish actor Colin, 48, quickly got comfortable and told host Graham, 61, all about his experiences filming Batman spin-off The Penguin, in which he plays the titular villain. 

Colin said: ‘In the end I was a bit miserable and angry. I remembered how much Jim Carrey hated The Grinch makeup and whilst I didn’t get to that level, I did struggle especially as the subject matter was so dark.’

He added: ‘It is a huge relief now that it is out and people think it is all right. If you are shallow and insecure like me, you are expecting a slap in the face so a rub on the back is definitely preferable!’

Colin Farrell talked about his difficulties playing Batman character The Penguin (right) and admitted he is shallow and insecure during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show 

Colin sported a fat suit, facial disfigurations, and a balding head of hair for the role – a far cry from his trim, luscious-haired self. 

DC Studios miniseries The Penguin follows criminal Oswald ‘Oz’ Cobb / The Penguin, former chief lieutenant of deceased crime boss Carmine Falcone who is on the rise to becoming a criminal kingpin in his own right.

The Penguin is a spin-off of the 2022 film The Batman which starred Robert Pattison as the titular hero.

Colin’s Penguin originated in this film, but was portrayed by Danny DeVito.

The Batman is an origin story so Penguin is not yet the crime kingpin he is depicted to be in the comics, likewise Batman is not yet an experienced crime fighter.

Matt Reeves, the film’s director, compared the character of Penguin to Fredo Corleone (John Cazale) from The Godfather (1972), due to ‘the insignificance that he lives within, in a family that is full of very strong, very bright, very capable, very violent men’.

As well as Colin, the series stars How I Met Your Mother’s Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, the daughter of Carmine, Penguin’s boss. 

The Penguin was first announced back in 2021 and is set one week after the events of The Batman.

The series debuted on the Max streaming serving on September 19 in the States and UK viewers can watch it on Sky Atlantic and NOW. 

Colin Farrell talked about his difficulties playing Batman character The Penguin (right) and admitted he is shallow and insecure during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show

Colin said: ‘In the end I was a bit miserable and angry. I remembered how much Jim Carrey hated The Grinch makeup… I did struggle especially as the subject matter was so dark’ (pictured during filming in March 2023) 

Also on Friday’s episode, Lady Gaga came dressed in character: she plays the Harley Quinn to Joaquin Phoenix’s The Joker in upcoming musical film Joker: Folie à Deux

She formed an immediate connection with Demi Moore’s dog micro chihuahua Pilaf – who, as well as Demi, was making her Graham Norton debut – and accepted a kiss from her 

Comedian Richard Ayoade was there to promote his hilarious new fiction book The Unfinished Harauld Hughes

All were later treated to a performance by English-Italian acoustic singer Jack Savoretti (right) featuring Wirral’s Miles

Also on Friday’s episode of The Graham Norton Show, Lady Gaga came dressed in character: she plays the Harley Quinn to Joaquin Phoenix’s The Joker in upcoming musical film Joker: Folie à Deux. 

She formed an immediate connection with Demi’s dog micro chihuahua Pilaf – who, as well as Demi, was making her Graham Norton debut – and accepted a kiss from her. 

Comedian Richard was there to promote his new fiction book The Unfinished Harauld Hughes.

All were later treated to a performance by English-Italian acoustic singer Jack featuring Wirral’s Miles. 

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One, Friday September 27 at 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.