Colin James Farrell (/ˈfærəl/; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. He first appeared in the BBC drama series Ballykissangel (1998), then made his film debut in the drama film The War Zone (1999), and was discovered by Hollywood upon taking the lead role in the war drama film Tigerland (2000). He then portrayed outlaw Jesse James in the Western film American Outlaws (2001) before starring in the thriller films Phone Booth (2002), S.W.A.T., and The Recruit (both 2003), establishing his international box office appeal. During that time, he also appeared in Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller Minority Report (2002) and as the supervillain Bullseye in the film Daredevil (2003).
After starring in the independent films Intermission (2003) and A Home at the End of the World (2004), Farrell portrayed Alexander the Great in the biopic Alexander (2004) and starred in the historical romantic drama film The New World (2005). He followed these with roles in Miami Vice (2006), Ask the Dust (2006), and Cassandra's Dream (2007), underscoring his popularity; his role in Martin McDonagh’s comedy film In Bruges (2008) earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He next starred in the black comedy film Horrible Bosses, for which he received critical praise, along with comedy-horror film Fright Night (both 2011), sci-fi action film Total Recall, and black comedy crime film Seven Psychopaths (both 2012). In 2022, Farrell reunited with Gleeson and McDonagh in The Banshees of Inisherin which earned him critical praise and the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
In 2013, Farrell starred in the action film Dead Man Down and the quasi-biopic Saving Mr. Banks, in which he portrayed the father of P. L. Travers. He starred as Peter Lake in the supernatural fable Winter's Tale (2014), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mark Helprin, and portrayed Detective Ray Velcoro in the second season of HBO's True Detective (2015). He also starred in the film The Lobster (2015), for which he was nominated for his second Golden Globe. He then portrayed auror Percival Graves / Gellert Grindelwald in the Harry Potter prequel film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), as well as crime boss Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / The Penguin in the 2022 superhero film The Batman, a role which he will reprise in a spin-off self-titled solo series for HBO Max. In 2020, he was listed at No. 5 on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
Farrell hosted Saturday Night Live on the December 11, 2004 episode, the seventh episode of 30th season with musical guest Scissor Sisters. He made cameo appearance on the October 8, 2022 episode of SNL's 48th season, hosted by Brendan Gleeson with musical guest Willow.