Colin James Farrell (
/ˈfærəl/; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A
leading man in
blockbusters and
independent films since the 2000s, he has received various
awards and nominations, including two
Golden Globe Awards and a nomination for an
Academy Award.
The Irish Times' named him Ireland's fifth-greatest film actor in 2020.
Farrell began acting in the
BBC drama series
Ballykissangel (1998) and made his film debut in the drama
The War Zone (1999). His first lead film role was in the war drama
Tigerland (2000), and he made his breakthrough in
Steven Spielberg's science fiction film
Minority Report (2002). He took on high-profile roles as
Bullseye in
Daredevil (2003) and as
Alexander the Great in
Alexander (2004), with further starring roles in
Michael Mann's
Miami Vice (2006) and
Woody Allen's
Cassandra's Dream (2007).
Farrell earned acclaim for playing a rookie hitman in
Martin McDonagh's comedy
In Bruges (2008), winning a
Golden Globe Award for best actor. He went on to play a variety of leading and character roles in the comedy
Horrible Bosses (2011), the science fiction film
Total Recall (2012), the black comedy
Seven Psychopaths (2012), the drama
Saving Mr. Banks (2013), the dark comedies
The Lobster (2015) and
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), the gothic thriller
The Beguiled (2017), and the fantasy film
Dumbo (2019). He also starred in the
second season of
HBO's thriller series
True Detective (2015).
Farrell played
Percival Graves in the fantasy film
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and
Penguin in the superhero film
The Batman (2022). He gained acclaim for his roles in the science fiction drama
After Yang, the survival film
Thirteen Lives, and McDonagh's drama
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). For playing a naive Irishman in the lattermost, he won the
Volpi Cup for Best Actor and another Golden Globe, in addition to a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actor.