Colin tells men to face their demons

COLIN FARRELL has urged men to face their demons – following his own stint in rehab more than a decade ago.

The Irish actor, who tackled his drug and alcohol addiction by seeking treatment at the end of 2005, reckons there is still far too much stigma attached to men discussing their problems and self medicating as a coping mechanism. “It is certainly not abnormal what I went through, sadly,” says the 41-year-old.

“Having an addiction and not knowing as a man what to do in a male-dominated society that puts worth and high value on emotions of alpha behaviour and pack mentalities results in violence and all sorts of madness.”

Discussing why he sought expert help the Daredevil star adds: “I was done… I could go mad for three, six months and then I could pull back for a few months to try to re-enter the atmosphere. I couldn’t find the handbrake.”

The Ballykissangel actor was catapulted to Hollywood superstar status and admits the speed of success was too much to handle: “I rose very quickly through the ranks and had a lot of commercial success very early and couldn’t make head nor tail of it. I did a couple of big films that didn’t work.

“Then there wasn’t the opportunity to do big films and it sort of forced my hand to take stock and rethink my life.”

Now Colin, who had previously stated heroin is fine to do in moderation, unwinds by hiking: “I find nature pulls the steam out of you. I go on road trips and hang out with my kids.”