Colin Farrell

Colin James Farrell (born May 31, 1976) is an Irish actor.

Farrell was born in Castleknock, Dublin, the son of Rita, a homemaker, and Eamon Farrell, who operates a health food store and was a footballer who played for Shamrock Rovers FC. Farrell has three siblings, two sisters, Claudine (who is his personal assistant) and Catherine, and a brother, Eamon 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 team, Castleknock Celtic, as a goalkeeper and dated Angie Miller. Farrell auditioned for the Irish group Boyzone when he was still unknown. Farrell attended The Gaiety School of Acting, but dropped out and was cast in the part of Danny Byrne on Ballykissangel, a BBC television drama.

Farrell had a number of small parts in various TV shows and movies, until 2000, when he was cast in the lead role of Private Roland Bozz in Tigerland, an American film directed by Joel Schumacher.

Farrell married English actress Amelia Warner in July 2001 and divorced her four months later.

Farrell has a son, James (born September 12, 2003), with American model Kim Bordenave, from whom he has since separated. In October 2007, Farrell revealed that his son has Angelman Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterised by intellectual and developmental delay, speech impediment, sleep disturbance, seizures, hand flapping movements, frequent laughter/smiling and usually a happy demeanour.

In December 2005, Farrell voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation treatment center for addictions to recreational drugs and painkillers. His publicist commented that Farrell had started taking painkillers due to a back injury. He was released in January 2006. In May 2006, Farrell started attending rehabilitation meetings.

Farrell, appearing on the cover of the April 2008 British issue of GQ magazine states he is currently single. He currently owns property near Phoenix Park in Dublin, but is living in a home he owns in Los Angeles to be near his son, Jimmie, who turned four in 2007.

In July 2005, Farrell filed a lawsuit suing his former girlfriend, Playboy model Nicole Narrain, the Internet Commerce Group and adult entertainment producer David Hans Schmidt over the unauthorized public distribution of a 14-minute sex tape that Farrell made with Narrain in 2003. Farrell claims he understood the tape as being "strictly private and confidential and will take legal court actions to anyone who tries to distribute it", but it was leaked to Schmidt and ICG who tried to release it publicly. A Los Angeles judge issued an injunction barring the sale, distribution, or display of the tape. Narrain claimed that she did not give the tape to anyone and was not sure if or how copies were taken from her. She originally said that she would work with Farrell to ensure that it remained private, but Farrell said Narrain was trying to release it along with Schmidt in order to damage his career and "make money out of it", which Nicole denies. In January 2006, the tape surfaced on website named dirtycolin.com. The site was shut down on the same day because of server overload, but re-opened a week later. The tape was then pirated through BitTorrent and other file sharing systems. Both Farrell's and Narrain's lawyers denounced the site, which was shut down again a few days later for unknown reasons. Farrell's legal team said it would take legal action against sites that hosted the tape. A trial date for the Narrain lawsuit was set for July 17, 2006, but the judge allowed Farrell and Nicole to mediate until April 20. On April 16, the two reached a settlement with confidential terms. However, Farrell's lawsuit against ICG continued with a trial date set for July 21, 2006.

Farrell has been sued twice for alleged harassment and sending foul messages to telephone sex worker Dessarae Bradford. The lawsuits were later dismissed due to a lack of evidence provided by Bradford. Bradford, who has announced that she is "waging war on Colin Farrell", has recorded a song entitled "Colin Farrell is My Bitch" and has self-published a book called Colin Farrell: A Dark Twisted Puppy. Bradford had previously recorded a song and written a book in which she claimed to have engaged in pegging with actor Alec Baldwin. Bradford took a lie detector test on an i TV program in an attempt to support her claims and stories. She failed the test.

On July 20, 2006, as Farrell was being interviewed by Jay Leno on the set of The Tonight Show, Bradford evaded security, walked on stage as cameras were rolling, confronted Farrell, and threw her book on Jay's desk. In front of a silent, stunned audience, Farrell escorted her off the stage himself, told the camera crew to stop filming, and handed her over to security. As Bradford was led out of the studio, she shouted "I'll see you in court." Farrell's response was a smooth, "Darling, you're insane!" Outside the studio, NBC security handed her off to Burbank police, who eventually released her. After Farrell apologized to the audience, describing Bradford as "my first stalker", the show then continued filming and the incident was edited out of the broadcast aired that night. Farrell later requested a restraining order in court against Bradford. Farrell said Bradford "accosted me during the taping of a network television show on July 20, 2006. I am concerned that her harassing behaviour has escalated and may pose an immediate threat to my well-being and the well-being of my family." The request also asked for Bradford to keep away from Farrell, his son James and James' mother, Kim Bordenave.

Wins:

* Boston Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Actor for Tigerland in 2000.
* London Critics Circle Film Awards: Best Newcomer of the Year for Tigerland in 2002.
* Shanghai International Film Festival: Best Actor for Hart's War in 2002.
* IFTA Awards: Best Actor in a Film (Public Vote) in 2003.
* MTV Movie Awards: Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough Performer in 2003.
* Teen Choice Awards: Best Choice Movie Actor for Daredevil and Phone Booth in 2003.
* Teen Choice Awards: Best Movie Villain for Daredevil in 2003.
* MTV Movie Awards, Mexico: Best Actor in a Movie for S.W.A.T. in 2004.