Colin has eight extra hours without drink

Colin Farrell has “eight extra hours a day” now that he has stopped drinking.

The ‘Seven Psychopaths’ actor has been sober since checking in to rehab in 2006 and admitted he was shocked by how much time he had wasted before on his addictions of alcohol and drugs.

He told Details magazine: “I’ve got eight hours a day now that I didn’t have before, when I was drinking every day for 18 years . . . It’s honest, it’s real. That’s quite simply the coolest thing.”

While Colin is now fit and healthy, he is ashamed to admit that even the birth of his son James in 2003 didn’t make him clean up his act at first.

He said: "When I had James, I made a decision not to change. I literally said, 'I'm not changing! I'm gonna be his friend!' Like a f***ing 28-year-old drug-addicted drunk friend is exactly what my six-week-old son needs.”

He also spent most of his time lying to family and friends to cover up his excesses but says it was exhausting to keep track of his untruths.

He explained: “Oh, I wouldn't tell a truth all day. If I'd had chicken and beans for dinner, I'd tell you I had steak and potatoes. No purpose, just habit. The amount of energy you have to put in and the amount of lies you have to tell to keep a drug habit alive, it's fairly significant. Your whole life is a lie."