The job Colin Farrell will always regret: “If someone finds it, please blackmail me”

Posted On October 22, 2025October 22, 2025

Just when you think you can count Colin Farrell out, he pops back up again.

After enjoying both mainstream and critical success in the early 2000s, his star waned significantly after a number of, shall we say, unfortunate career decisions (Daredevil). However, just when it looked like he was going to fade away, he bounced back, settling into a groove of more challenging, but still widely accessible roles through collaborations with Martin McDonagh, Yorgos Lanthimos, and more to become one of the most preeminent performers working today; thank God he managed to shake off that ‘Bullseye’ stink.

The Irishman got his start in several less glamorous productions, though, wherein his fellow countryman might remember him from the TV show Ballykissangel, in which he played the troubled young nephew of a series regular, famously making his debut on the show by riding into the titular town on a horse. On the other end of the spectrum, he also starred in Tim Roth’s directorial debut, The War Zone, which told an incredibly harrowing story about a family torn apart by sexual violence, playing a minor role as the protagonist’s sister’s love interest.

In an interview with Ramp Space, Farrell spoke about the early part of his acting journey, revealing that, because he was so keen to join the profession, he never actually completed his high school education. Unfortunately, this led to a few decisions that he’d rather forget about. 

“There was a phase when I would have done almost anything for money. So I did a bit of modelling on the side. One time, the guys from the agency said to me, ‘We need someone’, ‘How much is it?’, ‘20 pounds’, ‘I’m in. I can fucking do anything just for drinking money’. So I modelled male underwear on national TV, daytime. A thong! I’m not talking boxer shorts…a fucking thong… If someone finds it, please blackmail me! Because you’ll get whatever I can give you.”

Given his background, it’s actually quite surprising that Farrell ended down the acting path, as his father and uncle were both talented football players, with young Colin also showing promise in the sport. He almost went into music instead, as he once revealed that he auditioned for the boy band Boyzone. He was unsuccessful, of course, but wouldn’t you give all the money in your bank account to see a universe where he got in?

Ultimately, after watching a classic Steven Spielberg movie, he was inspired to give the thespian life a go, initially studying his craft at Dublin’s Gaiety School of Acting before dropping out when the Ballykissangel job came through. The rest, as they say, is history. 

From stripping down to his undies to make ends meet to starring in one of the most acclaimed TV series of recent times, Farrell’s journey to acting supremacy has been a very interesting one, and that’s just the stuff he got up to at the start of his career. You have no idea how much mischief he got himself into after he actually became famous, but that’s more part of public records. 

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