An episode with . . .
Colin Farrell has made plenty of mistakes but wouldn’t change a thing, he tells Michele Manelis
You’ve gone to dark places before but The Killing of a Sacred Deer takes it to a new level.
Yes. I’d worked with [director] Yorgos Lanthimos in The Lobster and I find his material very disturbing. With this film, any of us who are parents have wondered from time to time, “Do we give one child over another preferential treatment?” Well, the ultimate preferential treatment is which child are you killing over the other?
Do you remember a situation where you’ve behaved badly and then felt remorse?
Are you kidding me? Are you crazy? I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life. I’ve done things and I have hurt people in ways that have filled me with complete and utter shame. On the other hand, I wouldn’t change anything in the past because I wouldn’t be here today.
So, no regrets?
Well, there are times that I’ve hurt people and I wish I could take it back. But you can’t and all you can do is become a better person, learn from it and not hurt anyone in the same way. And to me, that’s personal karma. But you will hurt people and people will hurt you. That’s part of the human experience.
What would you like written on your tombstone?
Hmm . . . What about “Back in Five”? Or maybe . . . “Karma is a bitch”.
You’ve been nude and done intimate scenes several times in movies. Do you still feel inhibited?
It’s not comfortable. Truly. It’s not. I mean, none of it is really comfortable and you always have at least three, four or five men in a room, which makes it harder for a woman, no doubt. But for men, we are just dogs anyway.
Do you live in LA?
Yes. I’ve lived in LA for 12 years. I kind of have two homes, the place where I was born, Ireland, which informed me and shaped me and the one I used to launch myself out into the world as a young man. And then the place that I chose, as a result of things that happened in my life, to make a home. So both places have some places that the other can’t offer.
What happens when Colin Farrell walks into a pub in Dublin? Does he