Colin Farrell almost quit acting for good after disastrous movie with Hollywood icon
Colin Farrell joined forces with Angelina Jolie for one of his break-out movies, but after it tanked at the box office, he was ready to turn his back on acting for good
He spiralled into a deep depression after his break-through movie Alexander failed to make waves in the box office - Colin Farrell was ready to turn his back on the craft he adored after the blow.
It has come to light the 47-year-old beloved Irish actor, who has recently has been praised for his award-winning portrayal of the Penguin in The Batman, almost quit for good after his movie with Angelina Jolie fell upon dark times following the release of the 2004 film, Alexander. The Irish star eventually went to rehab to cope with the emotional turmoil following Alexander.
The film's poor reception, earning $167 million against a $155 million budget, left Colin feeling ashamed and ready to quit acting for good. In an unearthed interview with The Mirror in 2012, Colin said, "That was tough. I say tough relative to a charmed life, but I’m not going to apologize for how much it affected me emotionally and psychologically. I was going to walk away from acting."
To make matters worse Colin had such high hopes for the movie. He told The Hollywood Reporter, "It took us six months to shoot, on three continents. It was incredible."
“We all had our tuxedos ready. I’m not even joking. We were all like: 'Right, lads, we’re off to the Oscars. This is a sure thing.' And then it came out. The reviews came out, and I remember someone going, 'Oh God, it’s not good'. And my publicist going, 'It’s really not good'.
"I was like, ‘Well, what do you mean ‘not good’? They had all the printed reviews, and one after another was telling me to pack my bags. I’d been found out. Alexander the Dull, Alexander the Boring, Alexander the Inarticulate, Alexander the Weak.
"I was like, ‘Holy s---'. I felt so much shame. I found myself in a place where with everyone I met I wanted to say, 'Have you seen Alexander? If you have, I’m really sorry'."
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Colin continued, "So I went to Lake Tahoe to a ski resort. I didn’t ski, but I realized I could wear a mask and a beanie, and I did that for three days. And then after that, yeah, I did question.
"This is not to apologize — I was a young man — but Alexander really made me go: ‘I don’t know.’" It's a good job he didn't turn his back on acting. Colin has changed the game, with fans hailing his resurgence in The Penguin phenomenal.
He is on the up in the acting world. The Minority Report star is said to be in discussions for the starring role in Sgt. Rock, a fresh take on the DC Comics series helmed by iconic director Luca Guadagnino - who recently directed the blockbuster hit Challengers.
Sgt. Rock is slated to kick off filming this summer at DC Studios' production hub in England. In the original comics, Sgt. Rock is a World War II soldier and a hero on the battlefield.
Previous attempts to bring the character to the big screen have fallen flat, with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger once linked to the role. This latest version is being brought to life under the watchful eyes of DC Studios co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran.
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