The scene is a posh conference suite at the Windsor Arms Hotel. Actor Colin Farrell saunters in, and politely greets the assembled reporters. Clad in jeans and a hardly-buttoned black shirt, he sips from a large glass of red wine, the first link in a chain of Camel cigarettes dangling from his lip. His hair is expertly tousled, and he looks every bit the Hollywood rebel he is reputed to be.
At the age of 28, Farrell has conquered Hollywood, much like his character in his new film Alexander conquered most of the known world. However, he does not seem to be overly attached to his privileged lifestyle.
“I like what I do, and I wanna do it for a while, but I couldn’t give a fuck if they packed me home to Dublin tomorrow and say ‘you’re never gonna work again.'”
Despite his flippancy, there is no doubt the man is passionate about his work, as he earnestly answers various questions about the film and his career. Farrell’s last two roles have involved bisexuality, yet says he has no qualms about being typecast. He philosophically expands upon his thoughts by saying, “You must be fearless. You must not be afraid of loss. ‘Cause through loss, sometimes you understand yourself more, you ask deeper questions about existing.”
In an earlier interview with GQ magazine, Farrell noted that portraying Alexander made him feel lonely and sad, and said that it “drove [him] a bit crazy.” When asked whether he would embark on the project again, given the traumatic experience, he is quick to respond.
“Yeah. Yeah, absolutely… it fucked with my perception.”
Farrell explains that he was so immersed in the character that he was unable to go home to Dublin during a Christmas break in filming.
“I just didn’t feel like I could sit in the pub with everyone and be myself. I wasn’t walking around the streets of London in a fucking toga, I didn’t lose my mind,” he laughs, “but I just didn’t want to go back to a life I knew before; I wasn’t ready.”
Instead, the actor traveled to Egypt, Greece, and other locations that Alexander had conquered or inhabited, delving more deeply into the role and its history. Farrell insists that despite the intensity of the experience, he has no regrets.
“The whole thing hurt me in a most beautiful way,” he declares in his lilting Irish accent, “and I’d do it all over again in a second.”
Inevitably, the elephant in the room is made visible when Farrell is asked whether he feels a lot of pressure now that the film is finished. He draws a long breath, and exhales.
“The reviews are pretty tough-it’s gettin’ hammered.”
Many film critics have been giving Oliver Stone’s epic picture one-star reviews, and have had few kind things to say about it.
“My heart’s broken for Oliver today. I fear, and I firmly believe-I actually fucking know-that a lot of people go to Oliver’s films with daggers in their pockets,” Farrell offers, citing the director’s controversial body of work as the source for critics who take perhaps too much pleasure in giving Stone a bad review.
Despite almost unanimously poor reviews, Farrell remains positive about Alexander and its merit.
“It’s by no means a failure. I’ve never been prouder in my life-nor may I be again. I think Oliver did an incredible job.”
