Issue Date: February 10, 2002

It's talent, not blarney, that's won Colin Farrell roles in films with Al Pacino, Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis.

By Michele Hatty

USA Weekend Magazine

Imagine this: One day, you're a teenager in Ireland, a funny, popular lad but a poor student. You drop out of high school and your teachers tell you you'll amount to nothing, but you shrug them off and head for Australia to ramble about with pals.

Fast forward about seven years. Now, you're walking onto a movie set in Prague, shoulder to shoulder with Bruce Willis, preparing to star as the title character in a big American war movie. Sounds too good to be true, but for Colin Farrell, it's reality.

Farrell, who popped onto Hollywood's radar screen two years ago with a riveting turn in 2000's critically acclaimed Vietnam War drama "Tigerland", has quickly caught the eye of big-name directors such as Steven Spielberg. In short succession, the young actor landed starring roles in upcoming movies opposite the likes of Tom Cruise ("Minority Report"), Al Pacino ("The Farm") and Willis, with whom he stars in "Hart's War", opening this week. Farrell plays the title role of Lt. Tommy Hart, a World War II POW called upon to defend a fellow soldier accused of murder.

Farrell was drawn to "Hart's War" because it's a study in loyalty. "It's about being on the same side as each other regardless of race, religion, creed, color. You should be on the same team as your countrymen, and sometimes it doesn't work out that way," he explains in his Irish brogue.

The youngest of four, Farrell, 25, grew up in Dublin watching American movies -- "'E.T.', 'Jaws', 'Indiana Jones', 'Close Encounters', the whole lot of them" -- but never expected to find himself acting in them. After indulging his chronic wanderlust -- he spent a year in Australia -- he returned to Dublin to try acting and met with modest success. An unexpected meeting in London with director Joel Schumacher ("St. Elmo's Fire", "8MM") got him the "Tigerland" role, and the buzz began.

"That's what I would call a star-making part. He inhabited that role in a very distinctive and memorable way," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Hot Ticket" film critic Leonard Maltin says of Farrell's performance as Roland Bozz, a conflicted American soldier preparing to be shipped to Vietnam. The film faltered at the box office, however, leaving Farrell's promise largely unnoticed by the moviegoing public.

Hollywood insiders were paying attention, though, and soon after "Tigerland" the actor began winning roles in high-profile projects originally considered for A-list stars such as Matt Damon and Edward Norton.

"Hart's War" director Gregory Hoblit, who vaulted Norton to fame by casting the then-unknown actor in "Primal Fear", says Farrell -- despite his low profile -- was a natural choice to play Tommy Hart. "Colin was a risk, but his work on "Tigerland" made it abundantly clear to me -- as it did to Bruce [Willis] -- that the two of them could stand on the same stage as equals," Hoblit says. "I don't think much intimidates Colin. He's a real tough Irish street kid. He's seen a fair number of barroom brawls."

That's not surprising, since Farrell's favorite hangout is the pub. His brew of choice is Carlsberg (which he describes as "mother's milk"), and he says the stereotype of the Irish being big drinkers doesn't bother him: "Per capita, I'd say, we have more pints during the week than Americans. If it wasn't for whiskey, the Irish would have taken over the world. But we don't need to take over the world. We're quite happy with what we're doing."

Filming "Hart's War" in Prague, Farrell often took Willis along for a pint. "He was good fun," Farrell says. "He's just a dead-on bloke. He's a people person. He likes to go out and have a drink and have a laugh with the cast and the crew."

Willis wasn't with his co-star when the young actor ran into a little post-pub trouble. "Prague's like any other city in the world as far as some dodgy characters. There's a good few muggings, and I was at the end of one of them," he says with a good-natured laugh. "One night, I was walking home, and some geezer jumped me. It was no biggie. He didn't get nothing." It's that relaxed attitude toward the unexpected twists of life that keeps Farrell grounded. A brief marriage already over, he stays close to his family and usually has at least one sibling working with him on each movie.

Although fame hasn't yet caught up with the actor, "Tigerland"'s Schumacher is confident Farrell will handle it well: "I've worked with so many young people starting off in this business. Some, I worried very much about what success would do to them. I'm not worried about Colin. There's such a basis of a strong family and character there that whatever vicissitudes he goes through, he'll come through fine."

For now, fun is the priority. Farrell's friends ("me mates," as he calls them) fly in to hang out with him wherever he's shooting. And he continues to travel as much as possible -- although that passion has been hindered by his newly heavy workload. "I'd love to go to South America, to Asia. There's so much I want to see. But I'm only 25. I have so much time."