Colin Farrell knows what it's like to hang over the edge and save himself. In 2016 he was chosen as an ambassador for a Dolce & Gabbana fragrance called Intenso, and the name fits like a glove with the history of this Irish actor who became a star at the beginning of the century, disappeared consumed by his addictions and was reborn for years more. afternoon free from alcoholism but always attentive to possible relapses. One of the drivers of this change was the arrival of his son James, who is currently 17 years old, and was born with Angelman syndrome, a genetic disease that affects the nervous system and causes serious intellectual, linguistic and developmental delays. psychomotor.
On September 12, James will turn 18 years old and Farrell and the young man's mother, the model Kim Bordenave, from whom he has been separated since 2003, have requested the guardianship of their son to continue being legally responsible for him when he reaches the age of majority. . To achieve this, they had to present extensive documentation last week detailing James's situation and the reason for the request made by his parents. In the case of Farrell's son, the disease, which affects one person in every 20,000, has caused him to be unable to speak, to have “problems with his fine motor skills” and to be unable to take care of “his own health and well-being”. as detailed in the reports to which
Page Six
has had access
.
Reasons that support the request to the courts so that they grant their parents guardianship, have access to the confidential records of their child even when they are of legal age, can grant or deny medical consents and make decisions about the relationships of their child in their Name.
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A procedure that many parents who have children with intellectual disabilities know, but that in the case of Colin Farrell has acquired a certain media significance because James was also one of the reasons that influenced the actor to realize that everything in his life was disproportionate and had to change. Farrell was born 44 years ago in Castleknock, Ireland, where he grew up a teenager with a passion for soccer and an admirer of Maradona above all else. He understood that his passion did not go hand in hand with his soccer skills and began to study drama in Dublin. In those days the young Farrell already showed signs of being able to become a good interpreter and also of how much he liked alcohol and using drugs. Even so, he found his place in the world of acting and was lucky,because in his rise to stardom it also worked in his favor that one day Kevin Spacey was among the audience of the theater in which he acted and fell in love with his performance.
Colin Farrell with model Kim Bordenave, the mother of his son James, in 2003 in Hollywood.
Getty
This is how Colin Farrell came to Hollywood 22 years ago, with little theatrical and television experience in Ireland and that look of badass appeal that fascinated directors and women.
Fame came as fast as the actor's madness did, who became the official scoundrel of the world.
Women, alcohol and cocaine became his day to day.
But his son was born, scandals were added that turned against him and blockbusters that were a fiasco.
In 2005, he assumed that he was the only culprit for his situation, entered a detox clinic and decided to change.
In 2016 he explained in an interview in
ICON
magazine
that since then he has been careful not to fall back into his addictions: “I had to discover who he was day after day.
You have to fill in the gaps with something else.
My current life is very full ”.
He also recalled that when he found himself lost, he had to reflect on his future and the meaning of his work because there was a moment when he even thought about abandoning his career: “After
Corruption in Miami
[in 2006] I was burned out and tired. I missed getting involved. I took some time off and reflected on the reasons the pre-insanity Colin wanted to pursue acting. I came to the conclusion that he enjoyed the profession, and that it was also a good way to earn a living ”. At that meeting he also confessed that if Twitter had existed when he began his career, the interview would be done behind bars: "Today it is more difficult to do mischief and there is less freedom," he said, despite acknowledging other benefits of social networks. He went on his own and his sincerity cost him scandalous headlines that haunted him for years, even when his life had little to do with his old life.
Now he knows what suits him in his personal and professional life and he lets himself be guided by those feelings that make him feel comfortable in his own skin. He talks with his children - he has another, 12-year-old Henry, along with the actress Alicja Bachleda-Curús - about things that he says he could not deal with with his father and states that he does not like to be away from them when he is forced by the filming . He has had to deny exotic claims about himself, such as that he committed to celibacy by following a Buddhist precept, practices yoga and is very attentive to keep his addictions at bay despite being sober for almost 15 years. For this reason, at the end of May 2018, he returned to a rehabilitation center in the United States to "avoid falling back into the rabbit hole" after an intense year of work.The bad boy is now a mature actor who has stabilized his career and life again and seems determined not to touch the abyss again.