Colin Farrell sits across from his BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER co-star Fala Chen, and when the conversation turns to career-defining gambles, he tells a story that still seems impossible. There was a moment, right at the beginning, when he had to choose between security and the dream, between a guaranteed paycheck on a hit television show and a one-in-a-million shot at making it in Hollywood. Everyone around him thought he’d lost his mind. His friends told him he was crazy. His family couldn’t understand it. Here was steady work, good money, the kind of opportunity most actors would kill for, and he was going to walk away from it to chase something with no guarantees whatsoever.
But Farrell did it anyway. He turned down the money, left the show, and took the leap. It’s the kind of decision that either launches a career or ends it before it really begins, and for years afterward, that choice has defined everything that came after. Looking at where he is now, fresh off his transformation in THE BATMAN and his revelatory work in THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN that earned him an Oscar nomination, it’s easy to forget how easily it all could have gone the other way. One different choice, one moment of hesitation, and Colin Farrell as we know him might not exist at all.
In BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER, which hit select UK and Ireland cinemas on October 17th before arriving on Netflix on October 29th, Farrell plays a man who’s betting everything on games of chance in Macau’s glittering casinos, a character who understands something about risk that most people never grasp. During the interview, he and Chen discuss the film’s striking costumes, their personal good luck charms, and the greatest plot twists in cinema history, but it all circles back to that original gamble, the one he made decades ago when he was nobody and had everything to lose. That decision reverberates through his entire career, through every bold choice and unexpected turn he’s taken since, from PHONE BOOTH to IN BRUGES to his recent renaissance playing Penguin in Matt Reeves’ Gotham and a grieving man on a remote Irish island in Martin McDonagh’s dark masterpiece.
Sometimes the craziest decisions are the only ones worth making, and sometimes betting on yourself when everyone else thinks you’ve lost the plot is exactly what separates the ones who make it from the ones who always wonder what might have been.
Daniel Day-Lewis is BACK and we`re not ready for how devastating ANEMONE is 😭
After 7 years away from the screen, Day-Lewis returns in this quiet Irish masterpiece directed by his son Ronan. It`s not a flashy comeback—it`s something far more powerful. A meditation on isolation, guilt, and the human connections we can`t outrun, no matter how far we go.
ANEMONE is now on Prime!
Barry Keoghan goes blonde and badass for CRIME 101! 🎬
The Irish star trades blows with Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo in this high-stakes crime thriller, playing Orman, a thief whose methods are as disturbing as they are effective. With Detective Lou Lubesnick (Ruffalo) closing in and rival criminal Davis (Hemsworth) in his way, this heist is about to get messy.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
When Colin Farrell had to choose between a guaranteed paycheck on a hit TV show and a one-in-a-million shot at Hollywood, everyone told him he was insane. His friends said don`t do it. His family couldn`t understand it. He did it anyway.
Now in BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER (in select UK/Ireland cinemas Oct 17, Netflix Oct 29), he plays a man who understands risk better than anyone. Because Farrell`s been there. He bet everything on himself when he had nothing, and that decision changed everything.
Sometimes the craziest move is the only one worth making. 🎬
More at irishfilmtv.com.
Andrew Scott`s hot streak continues 🔥
From the Hot Priest in FLEABAG to his heartbreaking turn in ALL OF US STRANGERS, he`s now bringing that signature intensity to BLUE MOON as composer Richard Rodgers.
The film hits theaters Friday, more at irishfilmtv.com.
Michael Fassbender is trading the big screen for Netflix royalty!
The Irish-German powerhouse is set to play Joe Kennedy Sr. in KENNEDY, an 8-episode drama diving deep into America`s most mythologized family. No release date yet, but with Fassbender leading, this one`s already on our watchlist. 👑
More at irishfilmtv.com.
🔥 The feud that stopped a nation.
SAIPAN brings the explosive 2002 World Cup confrontation between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy to the big screen—and it`s not about football glory, it`s about ego, standards, and two men whose rivalry became bigger than the game itself.
Watch the new trailer at irishfilmtv.com.
Pierce Brosnan is trading martinis for mountains.
The legendary Irish actor stars in the CLIFFHANGER reboot as Ray Cooper, a seasoned mountaineer running a luxury chalet in the Dolomites with his daughter.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
Brendan Gleeson is bringing all the feels in H IS FOR HAWK 🎬🦅
Playing the beloved father in this beautiful 2025 drama based on Helen Macdonald`s bestselling memoir, Gleeson delivers a performance that`s both tender and powerful.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
Netflix`s BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER has an amazing new trailer!
Colin Farrell plays an Irish fugitive hiding in Macau`s neon underworld as "Lord Doyle," gambling desperately to outrun his past.
The film opens in theaters Oct. 15 and starts streaming Oct. 29 on Netflix.
Watch now via link in bio.
Saoirse Ronan is heading back to the `60s! 🎸
The four-time Oscar nominee is reportedly set to play Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes` wildly ambitious THE BEATLES project—four separate films, each following a different Beatle.
She`ll star opposite Paul Mescal (her FOE co-star) as Paul McCartney, with Barry Keoghan as Ringo, Joseph Quinn as George, and Harris Dickinson as John.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
Cillian Murphy just confirmed THE IMMORTAL MAN drops in 2026 and Tommy Shelby is coming back with a vengeance. 🔥
Fresh off STEVE hitting Netflix, Murphy spilled the tea on The Graham Norton Show that the Peaky Blinders film has wrapped.
Watch now at irishfilmtv.com.
Graham Norton isn`t going anywhere!
The BBC has locked in three more series of THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW - with 2.9 million viewers tuning in and clips going viral weekly, Norton continues to prove why he`s the gold standard for celebrity interviews.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
Cillian Murphy isn`t chasing blockbusters—he`s back in the classroom.
The Irish actor`s latest role in Netflix`s STEVE sees him playing a struggling teacher at a last-chance reform school, proving once again that he`s more interested in transformation than validation.
Watch Cillian`s TODAY interview via link in bio.
🖤⚡️ JESSIE BUCKLEY IS COMING BACK TO LIFE! ⚡️🖤
Ireland`s Irish powerhouse transforms into a Gaga-esque flapper brought back to life as the companion of Christian Bale`s creature in Maggie Gyllenhaal`s electrifying new take on THE BRIDE!
New trailer at irishfilmtv.com.
🌟 From THE WITCHER to DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS to EVERYTHING NOW.
Dublin`s @niamhhmccormack_ has been quietly building one of the most impressive portfolios in Irish acting.
Don`t miss her in HOUSE OF GUINNESS, now streaming on @netflix.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
