Colin Farrell Talks Troubled Past, Says He’s ‘Grateful To Be Alive’

Actor Colin Farrell has long since left his “bad boy” image behind, and while promoting his latest film Seven Psychopaths, he took a minute to explain where he’s at today and how he got here.

Farrell sat down with Adam Sachs of Details to talk about the many ups-and-downs throughout his life, and moving steadily back up in recent years. After struggling with alcohol and drug abuse, sex scandals, and professional hiccups, the now-36-year-old is clean and focused, and if you’ve seen his recent films, you know that he’s better than ever.

“There was a time when I needed to do three or four films at once,” Farrell admits. “It was the best place for me to hide.” On his recently reformed life, Farrell jokes “I’m sh– print compared to what I was before.”

“Honestly,” Farrell simply says, “I’ve got eight hours a day now that I didn’t have before, when I was drinking every day for 18 years.”

For Farrell, fame and fortune made it increasingly difficult for him to hang on to his identity. “It’s very easy as someone who has in his life a certain amount of material wealth, but the best thing about fame is debunking it,” he says. “The best thing is that you get to go, ‘Oh shit—I’ve just knocked a big one off my list and it does not lead to happiness.'”

Being a father has also helped Farrell get his life on the right track: “Not knowing what the f— I’m doing as a dad is huge,” he says happily. “I don’t know what I’m doing, and that’s a very liberating thing. You just go, ‘Oh look, there’s sh– on the floor.’ There’s actually sh– on the floor—I have a picture of it on my phone. So what do you do? You clean it up, put a diaper on his a–, and that’s that. It’s just about being present for these guys.”

Farrell’s Seven Psychopaths is in theaters now. You can check out his full interview here.