Colin Farrell is a native of Ireland. He was cast recently as the title character in Warner Bros.' action-comedy "Jesse James," which centers on the legendary American outlaw and his rebel gang.
Born and raised in Castleknock in the Republic of Ireland, Farrell is the son of former football player Eamonn Farrell and nephew of Tommy Farrell. Both Tommy and Eamonn Farrell played for the Irish Football
Club Shamrock Rovers in the 1960's.
Farrell's early teenage ambition was to follow in his father's and uncle's footsteps; however his interests soon turned towards acting, and he joined the Gaiety School of Drama in Dublin. Before completing his course, Farrell landed a starring role in Dierdre Purcell's miniseries "Falling for A Dancer." A starring role in the BBC series
"Ballykissangel," in addition to a featured role in Tim Roth's directorial debut, "War Zone, The (1999)," followed soon after.
He was recently seen in Thaddeus O'Sullivan's Dublin gangster movie,
"Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)," co-starring Kevin Spacey. In the film, he
plays the youngest member of Spacey's gang of hoodlums. Spacey had suggested Farrell for the part after catching the young actor's performance "In a Little World of Our Own" at the Donmar Warehouse in
London.
