Entertainment

Colin Farrell opens up to Ellen on 10 years of sobriety and some of his more embarrassing movie moments

COLIN Farrell has opened up to American talkshow host Ellen about a decade of sobriety while spilling the beans on some of his more embarassing movie moments.

The Irish star spoke to DeGeneres about ditching the drink in his interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show this week.

“Congratulations — you look fantastic,” host Ellen said as the audience applauded Farrell, who first became teetotal in 2007.

The film star, who turns 41 at the end of May, also spoke about getting older.

“I love getting older,” he said. “Except getting hair in strange places and losing hair in not-so-strange places. It’s an inversion which is unfavourable.”

The Dublin native also played DeGeneres’ Celebrity Confession game, which riases money for charity - in this case the Chime Institute, the LA-based special needs school that Farrell's son James attends.

As part of his challenge he recounted his embarrassing preparation for his first sex scene in the 2000 film Tigerland.

“I had what you could refer to as ‘retro bush,'” Farrell joked. “I was very nervous because I’d never done a sex scene. Now they’re just a walk in the park…not really. They’re always uncomfortable.

Farrell sought out the hair and makeup team for help, asking for a beard trimmer. “I don’t know if they ever used the beard trimmer after,” he said. “I went into my trailer, I got a bin, and I put it there.”

He laughed: “Then I didn’t get my full frontal after all!”

Colin Farrell and his mother Rita Farrell at the 74th annual Golden Globe Awards, January 8, 2017. Picture: Getty

The Irish actor is promoting his new film, a remake of Clint Eastwood’s The Beguiled, which releases in June.

He recalled taking his glamorous mother Rita to the Golden Globes in January, where the 40-year-old actor was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical prize for his role in The Lobster.

“I took my mum to the Golden Globes, it had been a while since she had been to one of those things,” Farrell said.

“Those things are weird at the best of times. We were sitting with Warren Beattie and she enjoyed that, but I was kind of annoyed that he didn’t name the winner in my category because I might have been in with a shot.”