Talking to Colin Farrell

The Dublin-born actor speaks about playing a vampire in his upcoming film.

LOS ANGELES:

For years, Colin Farrell’s reputation as a party boy preceded him, but now he seems to have channelled his wild impulses into inspired performances in films such as Horrible Bosses, In Bruges and The Way Back.

In his new movie Fright Night, a 3D update of the 1985 comedy cult favourite, Farrell stars as Jerry – a sinister vampire who moves in next door to a naive high school student and his mother.

Was it fun to play two varied parts – horrible boss and now a vampire – back-to-back?

Yeah, but it’s a shorter road between the two than you might imagine – two fun characters. I felt like I’d had four or five years where I’d done more dramatic pieces and I’d wanted to do something lighter. Then these two films came along and it was happy days.

What about the vampire teeth?

Easy! They do the mould, then file them down and you don’t even notice them wearing them. And it’s great fun. You put them in, and instantly, because of all the films you saw as a kid, you start acting a certain way.

Vampires have always been sexy.

Always, and that’s the appeal. Human beings are always trying to bend and manipulate time to be in their favour and trying to defeat the ravages of age. And vampires are eternally young. And then how they attack and feed off their prey seems very sensual and erotic.

Were you a big horror fan?

Huge! Growing up, I loved Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and Friday the 13th, and there was nothing like being scared. And still to this day, just sitting in the cinema and being frightened and sharing laughter – there’s nothing like it.

Why do people love to be scared so much?

I think it’s just anything that allows us to feel in life. To have some visceral reaction in life to get that adrenaline going is a good thing. It makes you feel alive.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2011.