- Colin Farrell alluded to the critical reaction to 2004’s “Alexander” in a recent Roundtable interview.
- The star said he was convinced during the production of the Oliver Stone movie that he would win an Oscar.
- It resulted in him hiding out at a ski resort for three days.
Colin Farrell may be at the height of his career right now with the acclaim he received for his latest film, “The Banshees of Inisherin’,” which earned him She won a Golden Globe on Tuesday It was a frontrunner for the Oscars, but in the early 2000s it was believed that that kind of attention would come for the Oliver Stone movie “Alexander.”
Boy, was he wrong.
In 2004, Farrell played Alexander the Great in the big-budget blockbuster Stone, which also starred Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, and Anthony Hopkins. Pharrell recently she told The Hollywood Reporter at his actors’ roundtable that he was convinced the film was bound for the Oscars.
“Anticipation is a dangerous thing,” he said. It took six months to shoot on three continents. It was unbelievable. When I say “in anticipation,” we all had our tuxedos ready [for awards shows]. “
“I’m not kidding,” Farrell continued. “We were all like, ‘Okay, guys, we went to the Academy Awards.'” That’s for sure. “Then I went out.”
Colin Farrell plays Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone’s “Alexander”.
Warner Bros.
Farrell woke up rough when reviews started coming in and critics slammed the movie.
“The reviews were coming in, and I remember someone saying, ‘Oh my God, that’s not good,'” recalled Farrell, who was 23 at the time and the new sweetheart of Hollywood.
“And my publicist said, ‘It’s really no good,'” he said. “I said, ‘Well, what do you mean ‘not good’?” There weren’t any Rotten Tomatoes at that time, so they had all the reviews printed, and they were telling me one by one to pack my bags, it was discovered: “dull Alexander”, “boring Alexander”, “inarticulate” Alexander, “weak Alexander”.
He continued, “I was like ‘holy shit.’” I thought, “What can I do?” I felt so ashamed. I found myself in a place where I wanted to say to everyone I met, “Have you seen ‘Alexander’? If you have, I’m really sorry.” I’m not even kidding. I’m not going to give them $20 million back, but….”
“So I went to Lake Tahoe to a ski resort,” he said. “I didn’t ski, but I realized I could wear a mask and a beanie, and I did for three days. And then, yeah, I wondered. I went, ‘I’m just obsessed with that.'” I am a nonsense actor. I figured it out. “
(LR) Colin Farrell, Olive Stone, Angelina Jolie, and Val Kilmer at the premiere of “Alexander.”
Showbiz Ireland/Getty
“Alexander” marked a downturn in Farrell’s career as he followed it up with disappointing releases like “The New World”, “Miami Vice” and “Cassandra’s Dream”.
Funnily enough, it’s his recent hit manager who will get him back on the right track.
More than a decade before The Banshees of Inisherin, director Martin McDonagh cast Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (who also stars in Inisherin) in In Bruges, which became one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2008.
Farrell made a point to thank McDonagh for casting him in this movie when he accepted his Globes win for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy on Tuesday.
“I owe you so much, man,” he said to McDonagh on stage. “14 years ago, you got me to work with Brendan Gleeson, my dance partner, and you changed the trajectory of my life.”