Lauded the best actor of his generation by Al Pacino, Colin James Farrell undoubtedly possesses all the qualities that are required to make him worthy of receiving such accolade from such a great actor. Soared to stardom less than five years of his acting career, this attractive hunk indeed stands out among the other young thespians with his remarkable skills he has consistently displayed in the features he starred in. Already built an excellent resume consisting of his collaboration with either notable stars or renowned filmmakers, he surely has the potentiality to be recognized as one of the most celebrated actors of all time.

Hailed from Ireland, Colin was born to Eamon and Rita Farrell on May 31, 1976 in Castleknock, Dublin and grew up as a somewhat rebellious youngster who had been caught shoplifting, smoking joints, also driving over the limit. Trying to give him something meaningful to do in life, his brother, Eamon Farrell, Jr. then persuaded this dark-haired guy to attend an acting class, a blandishment that later worked out effectively on him. Soon after he discovered an interest in performing, Colin followed his sister, Catherine, to enter The Gaiety School of Acting in 1996, but quickly gave up his study as he could not stand being downgraded by the teaching staff. �I didn't think that I should have to pay �2,500 and take a year out of my life to be told that I was crap,� he remarked.

With only few acting experience that he had compiled through small roles in "Drinking Crude" (1997) and "Falling For a Dancer" (1998), Colin surprisingly made his way to earn quite a major part in the popular Irish series, �Ballykissangel� (1996-2001) in 1998. Managed to gain local public notice afterwards, he successfully joined Tilda Swinton and Ray Winstone to film Tim Roth's �The War Zone� (1999), followed by another propitious project of �Ordinary Decent Criminal� (2000) with Kevin Spacey plus Linda Fiorentino. This gave him much confidence to audition for a role in the U.S. production helmed by Joel Schumacher, �Tigerland� (2000), in which he eventually was cast to play Pvt. Roland Bozz. Even though this war flick did not receive a major release, it was critically acclaimed, undoubtedly brought him to wider attention abroad while also paved his way to Hollywood.

Once again involved in a war movie entitled �Hart's War� (2002), this time shared the scene with Bruce Willis, Colin rose to worldwide fame when he starred alongside megastar Tom Cruise plus Samantha Morton in Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller hit, �Minority Report� (2002). Based on Philip K. Dick's short story, the picture amazingly scored more than 358 million U.S. dollar internationally, consequently boosted his career and status to a considerable degree which led him to receive more lavish film offers. Subsequently became one of the most sought after actors, he continued to create a string of success throughout the year 2003 with a series of high-profile productions of �The Recruit�, �Daredevil, The Movie� �Phone Booth�, and �S.W.A.T�

Returned briefly to his homeland to film �Intermission� (2003) together with fellow Irish actor Cillian Murphy, Colin made a surprising turn in his role when he acted as the sweet-natured, soft-spoken Bobby Morrow in �A Home at the End of the World� (2004). To his dismal, his next feature, �Alexander� (2004), sadly was considered to be a major disappointment both critically and commercially, only collecting around $34 million during its run in domestic theatres despite its tremendous budget of $150 million. However, this failure apparently brought no significant effect to his career for he kept undergoing such a hectic schedule to film �The New World�, �Ask the Dust�, and �Miami Vice�, which all came up in 2006.

Later only appeared in Woody Allen's �Cassandra's Dream� by 2007, it certainly did not mean that Colin had a leisure time during the year since film roles continued to pile heavily for him to carry out. All could be seen in 2008, the stints included those in �Pride and Glory�, �In Bruges�, �The Hurt Locker�, and �Dirt Music�, the latter finding him replacing Australian hunk Heath Ledger who opted to do his role as Joker in �The Dark Knight� (2008) instead.

Apart from his popularity as an actor, Colin is also known for his controversial comments, including his admittance of seeking easygoing sex and enjoying the company of prostitutes also that of making casual use of heroin, which he no longer carried out. The actor then gave an explanation that he did all of those for a mere fun as he had experienced three failed love relationships, first with his former wife Amelia Warner, then Kim Bordenave who gave him a son named James in 2003, and music superstar Britney Spears. What he did not expect was he indeed encountered trouble for this boisterous life when his sex tape with Nicole Narain that they made together privately was leaked online, prompting him to place a lawsuit against the Playboy Playmate whom he suspected to be the one behind this incident.