Colin Farrell shared a particularly embarrassing memory Tuesday on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” from his time filming “Minority Report” opposite Tom Cruise — who apparently “wasn’t very happy” about what happened.
“I also had one of the worst days I’ve ever had on a film set,” Farrell recalled, adding: “It was my birthday on May 31st, and we were shooting, and I begged production — who did I think I was? — of a $120 million film if they would not have me working on my birthday.”
Farrell was a rising star when he was cast in Steven Spielberg’s 2002 blockbuster, while Cruise was already a Hollywood legend with a reputation for sheer professionalism on set. Farrell had yet to find sobriety, leading to an apparent all-night birthday bender.
“So of course my pickup was 6 a.m. on May 31st, and I got up to all sorts of nonsense the night before,” he said Tuesday. “And I remember getting into bed, and as soon as I turned off the light, the phone rang, and it was the driver outside who said, ‘It’s 10 past 6.’”
“And I went, ‘Oh, shit,’” Farrell said.
The actor was apparently so hungover that assistant director David H. Venghaus Jr. said he “can’t go to the set like this.” The Irish actor recalled asking for six Pacifico beers and a pack of Marlboro Reds.
“Now listen, it’s not cool, because two years later I went to rehab, right?” Farrell told Colbert’s audience. “But it worked in the moment! All the holy people that we should look to for the answers on how to live a life would say the present is all that counts.”
But maybe it didn’t work so well in the moment, either, because Farrell said he was completely flummoxed while filming opposite Cruise and couldn’t deliver his opening line for the scene: “I’m sure you’ve all grasped the fundamental paradox of pre-crime methodology.”
Farrell recalled desperately forging ahead despite a crew member suggesting he catch some air. He then revealed just how long it took him to get the line right, recalling, “It took 46 takes.”
“Tom wasn’t very happy with me,” he said. “Tom, who I love, was not very happy.”
Farrell admitted in 2008 that he was “drunk and high for 16 years” before checking into rehab for drug and alcohol abuse in 2005. He has been sober ever since — and was nominated for an Oscar in 2023.
Farrell’s conversation with Colbert can be viewed below.
Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.
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