Colin Farrell: I don’t consider myself to be an actor
Colin Farrell classes himself as a dad who sometimes acts rather than an actor.
The 41-year-old star is enjoying one of the most successful periods of his career, following acclaimed performances in 2015 black comedy ‘The Lobster’, 2016 Harry Potter spin-off ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ and Sofia Coppola’s remake of sexually charged drama ‘The Beguiled’ – which originally was released in 1971 with Clint East in the lead role.
Although Farrell is enjoying the plaudits from critics and audiences he doesn’t define himself by his cinema successes and insists he derives the majority of his happiness from raising his two sons, 13-year-old James with his ex-girlfriend, model Kim Bordenave, and seven-year-old Henry with his former partner, Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus.
In an interview with the latest issue of Total Film magazine, he said: "I’m loving work. I think I love the work now more than I ever have. I identify, ironically, less with it. It’s not that it means less than to me. I just identify less with it – being an actor … with it having a relevance to my work as a man. I think with that has come a sense of freedom that allows you to engage with the work on a deeper and a less personal level. And then when I’m not working, I’m out of it. I’ve nothing to do with it. I’m with my boys. It’s like, ‘Are you an actor?’ ‘No, but I act sometimes, and I get paid to do it, but I’m not an actor."
Farrell insists there’s no secret as to why most of his films are suddenly doing so well, as he’s not changed anything in his approach to acting or the types of roles he accepts.
Ultimately, the Irish heartthrob just wants to be happy at work and be in work.
He explained: "The path doesn’t feel dissimilar. The buildings on the left and the buildings on the right, and the street shortly ahead, might look a little bit different; but honest to God, I feel like I’m doing the same thing I’ve attempted to do for 20 years … It’s such a crap shoot, you know? I could look at Rotten Tomatoes and go, ‘Oh! There was a period where I had four ‘Rotten’ – it’s just now I’m on a period where I have two ‘Fresh’ in a row."
