'''Colin James Farrell''' (born May 31, 1976) is an Irish actor, best known for appearing in a series of high-profile Hollywood films, as well as for his controversial off-screen lifestyle.
Biography
Early life
Farrell was born prematurely weighing 1 pound 6 ounces in Castleknock, Dublin to a Jewish mother Rita Monaghan and and Irish father Eamonn Farrell, who is an FAI Cup winner and played with, as well as managed, Shamrock Rovers FC; he has two sisters, Claudine and Catherine, and a brother, Eamonn, Jr.
Farrell was educated at St. Brigid's National School in Castleknock followed by Castleknock College and Gormanston College. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was a promising young football player for Dublin side Castleknock Celtic, playing as a goalkeeper. Farrell attended The Gaiety School of Acting, but dropped out and was cast in the part of "Danny Byrne" on ''
Ballykissangel'', a popular BBC television drama set in Ireland. Farrell appeared on the show from 1998 until 1999.
Career
Farrell subsequently had a number of small parts in various TV shows and movies, until 2000, when he was cast in the part of "Private Roland Bozz" in ''
Tigerland'', an American film directed by Joel Schumacher. Although the film received only a limited release in the United States, Farrell has since been cast in a number of high-profile productions, and is considered one of Ireland's rising stars in Hollywood. Farrell's first American films, ''
American Outlaws'' 2001) and ''
Hart's War'' (2002), were not commercially successful, but his 2003 films, including ''
The Recruit'', ''
S.W.A.T.'' and ''
Phone Booth'', were well received and were box office successes, cementing Farrell as a commercial draw. Although he has a pronounced Irish accent, Farrell uses an American accent in both ''
American Outlaws'' and his breakthrough role ''
Tigerland''. Farrell is also a proven supporting actor, given his performances as an ambitious cop who chases after potential criminal Tom Cruise in ''Minority Report'' (2002) and as skilled villain Bullseye in ''
Daredevil'' (2003).
In 2004, Farrell appeared in several films that received only a limited theatrical release, including ''
Intermission'' and ''
A Home at the End of the World'', both of which received some positive reviews. According to press reports, audiences at a test screening of the latter film were deeply disturbed (with audible gasps) by the visual showing Farrell's massive erect penis swaying in a brief frontal nude scene of Farrell, during which he walked naked down a hallway. The film's producers claimed to have deleted this scene due to the threat that it might
