The weird and wonderful divergences of Colin Farrell

Is this the actor's best comeback ever?

Colin Farrell.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Warner Bros., A24, iStock)

The last time we saw Colin Farrell play a colorful supporting bad guy in a superhero movie was nearly 20 years ago, at a time when he seemed to be everywhere.

Having just appeared as the crazed assassin Bullseye opposite Ben Affleck in Daredevil, Farrell underwent the young actor's rite of passage, being mentored by Al Pacino in The Recruit; not long after, he carried the Joel Schumacher thriller Phone Booth almost completely solo, and suited up for the summer action movie S.W.A.T. All of these 2003 movies made money — yet only a year or two later, Farrell was already being labeled as in need of a comeback.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jesse Hassenger

Jesse Hassenger's film and culture criticism has appeared in The Onion's A.V. Club, Brooklyn Magazine, and Men's Journal online, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, where he also writes fiction, edits textbooks, and helps run SportsAlcohol.com, a pop culture blog and podcast.