page_title: Colin Farrell
section_title: From independents to epics (2003–2008)
hierarchical_section_title: Colin Farrell / Career / From independents to epics (2003–2008)
caption_attribution_description: English: Colin Farrell at the Toronto International Film Festival 2007.
context_page_description: Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor. Farrell appeared in the BBC drama Ballykissangel in 1998, made his film debut in the Tim Roth-directed drama The War Zone in 1999, and was discovered by Hollywood when Joel Schumacher cast him as the lead in the war drama Tigerland in 2000. He then played the outlaw Jesse James in the film American Outlaws with a young ensemble cast, with Gabriel Macht as brother Frank as well as Ali Larter, Scott Caan, and Timothy Dalton. He then starred in Schumacher's psychological thriller Phone Booth where he plays a hostage in a New York city phone booth, and the American thrillers S.W.A.T. and The Recruit, establishing his international box-office appeal. During that time, he also appeared in Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller Minority Report and as the villain Bullseye in the superhero film Daredevil.
  After starring in the independent films Intermission and A Home at the End of the World, Farrell headed Oliver Stone's biopic Alexander and Terrence Malick's The New World.
context_section_description: In late 2003 Farrell starred as a criminal who plots a bank robbery with Cillian Murphy in the dark comedy Intermission, which held the record for highest-grossing Irish independent film in Irish box-office history for three years and remains a cult classic there. In 2004, he appeared in several other independent films receiving limited theatrical release in most countries, including A Home at the End of the World (adapted from Michael Cunningham's A Home at the End of the World). Roger Ebert praised Farrell, saying that he was "astonishing in the movie, not least because the character is such a departure from everything he has done before". Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle differed, saying that the actor "is keen on making good....The effort is there, but it's a performance you end up rooting for rather than enjoying, because there's no way to just relax and watch".
  Farrell played the title role of Alexander the Great in Oliver Stone's 2004 biographical film Alexander, which, while receiving some favourable reviews internationally, was poorly received in the United States. Its portrayal of the conqueror as bisexual was controversial; the film was criticised by some historians for its treatment of the ancient Persians, although others praised it for its accuracy. An ancient-history scholar at the University of Nebraska wrote:
  I would compare [Alexander] to Lawrence of Arabia, in terms of sheer scope, pacing, and its unrelenting focus on a single individual.... In many ways, this is a movie for Greek and Alexander 'geeks.' The more one knows, the more one will recognise—the historical accuracy of sets is better than I've seen in some documentaries.
  The film grossed $167 million worldwide, just exceeding its budget of $155 million.
  Farrell's next film was 2005's Academy Award-nominated The New World, his second historical epic. He played the lead role of Captain John Smith, the founder of 17th-century colonial Jamestown, Virginia who falls in love with the Native American princess Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher). Director Terrence Malick went out of his way to keep Farrell and Kilcher apart until they were filmed together. Although it was released in only 811 theatres worldwide and had a relatively low box-office gross, the film received a large number of positive reviews. In one of four reviews in The Guardian, John Patterson described it as a "bottomless movie, almost unspeakably beautiful and formally harmonious". The New World was followed by Ask the Dust, a period romance set in Los Angeles based on a John Fante novel and co-starring Salma Hayek. Reviews were mixed; Manohla Dargis of The New York Times favourably described Farrell's work, but Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian found "something a little forced in both lead performances". With a limited theatrical release, it was not a financial success.
  The actor was more successful in 2006 with his role opposite Jamie Foxx in Michael Mann's action crime drama, Miami Vice. The film grossed $164 million worldwide on a budget of $135 million, and TimeOut New York ranked it among the top 50 movies of the decade. (The DVD, released the same year, also managed to sell over a million copies (equivalent to $7.91 million in pirated versions) in its first week alone., and, as of 11 February 2007, had grossed over $36.45 million in rentals. A. O. Scott criticised Farrell's work: "When he's not on screen, you don't miss him, and when he is, you find yourself, before long, looking at someone or something else." Conversely, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was enthusiastic. The actor also reportedly took a slight pay cut to make friend and recent Oscar winner Jamie Foxx happy: His salary was initially larger than Foxx's.
  Farrell next appeared in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, which premiered in 2007 and was distributed in the US in early 2008. Reviews were mixed, with Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide writing that Allen's work was "shallow and unconvincing from beginning to end" and Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle saying that although "it's not as good as Match Point 
caption: Farrell at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
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