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Colin Farrell says Oscar nomination is ‘a bit of craic’ and he won’t be taking it too seriously

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell on the set of The Banshees of Inishsherin Expand

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Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell on the set of The Banshees of Inishsherin

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell on the set of The Banshees of Inishsherin

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell on the set of The Banshees of Inishsherin

Paul Hyland

Colin Farrell has said he is embracing the “moment in time” that he and his fellow Irish Oscar nominees are living.

Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon have all been nominated for their respective roles in The Banshees of Inisherin. While the film and its director, Martin McDonagh, are also shortlisted.

Farrell picked up the gong for Best Actor – Motion Picture Comedy at the Golden Globes earlier this month and following the ceremony both he and Brendan Gleeson tested positive for Covid-19.

Speaking to the American TV network CBS, Farrell said getting to enjoy the Oscar buzz with the cast is a “very sweet time”, and that is what he is focusing on, not winning. He also expressed how “humbled” he feels by the way audiences have connected to the movie.

"I get to see him (Gleeson), get to spend time with Kerry and Martin that we wouldn't otherwise,” he said.

"In that way, that's the kind of window I climb through to enjoy this whole experience rather than taking it too serious."

“Just to be sharing it with the other lads and whoever's around and the films and the filmmakers. I still get giddy about the whole thing anyway… "Do I need it? No. But is it a bit of craic? Yeah. It's a moment in time - and then move on,” he added.

In their first joint interview since leaving Covid quarantine – Farrell and Gleeson spoke fondly of each other, and the time they spent together on set.

As is made clear from every trailer for The Banshees, Farrell’s character (Pádraic) and Gleeson (Colm) fall out but both actors admitted they decided not to go down the method actor route and keep their distance on set.

Farrell said he was “nervous” about the idea of having to give his good friend space and when the pair met up at the start of the filming process, they both realised “ah no, we don’t need it”.

The success of the film earned Brendan Gleeson a guest host spot on the long-running US sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL). He said Farrell’s encouragement was a big reason why he took on the challenge.

“He (Farrell) said, ‘do what you want but here’s my take on it.’,” Gleeson said.

“And I would take that seriously. Look I like clowning around, don’t get me wrong, there’s a thrill about it, it’s a white-knuckle ride. So, thanks for that Colin.”

Farrell described working with Gleeson as “just easy” and reminisced about the first time they met over many years ago.

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“The first time I met him was in a room with a Chelsea Hotel. I had recently put the jar down, right. I was sober about a year and a half or something like that and he opened the door I went into the room. We sat down and I’d know that this man would like a pint every now and then and I certainly had a reputation, and the reputation was now that I was recently sober. He knew that anyway,” Farrell said.

“He said, ‘will you have a drink?’… He went to the minibar that looked like it hadn't worked since the 50s and he opened it up and he pulled out two bottles of water and he went ‘I have still or sparkling’.”

“In that moment, the simplicity of that gesture told me, there's a man that’ll look after you. There's a man that'll take care of you. There's a man that considers people,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gleeson was equally complimentary of his friend, saying he’s a “kind man”.

“I’ve known a lot of kind men in my life, I’ve been lucky about that. My father was a kind man and I knew friends who were there for you,” Gleeson said.

“I knew immediately with him. So, that’s why the friendship lasts, because he’s somebody that considers people to an extraordinary degree.”

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