To say Colin Farrell’s career has been unique is an understatement. He was famously discovered by Joel Schumacher, who cast him in 2000’s Tigerland; his good looks landed him a place at the top of Hollywood’s A-list, starring in Minority Report, S.W.A.T, The Recruit and more. But, it was his acting that made him a favorite of directors like Michael Mann (Miami Vice), Terrence Malick (The New World), Oliver Stone (Alexander), Woody Allen (Cassandra’s Dream) and more. As far as his stardom went, the only issue was that these movies were expensive but not terribly successful at the box office. Thus, for a few years, Farrell took on a couple of dubiously commercial films, such as the disastrous Total Recall remake, that didn’t work.
However, when he was making those movies, he also starred in Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, which was perhaps his best role to date, and people took notice. So even if he looks like a heartthrob, he has the skill and range of a character actor, and it’s in this role that he’s excelled in the last few years, starring in great movies like The Lobster, The Killing of the Sacred Deer, Widows, The Gentlemen, After Yang and, of course, The Batman, where he plays The Penguin. Join us as we take a closer look at his career in this episode of WTF Happened to this Celebrity.
This episode of WTF Happened to this Celebrity is written (with Brad Hamerly), edited, narrated and produced by Taylor James Johnson. Berge Garabedian is the executive producer. Watch previous episodes below: