Colin Farrell reveals the 'sweet' gesture that sparked friendship with Brendan Gleeson

"The simplicity of that gesture told me 'there’s a man that will look after you'," said Colin

With all of the excitement around awards season, two Irish stars have stolen the show with their touching friendship — Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.

Farrell and Gleeson first worked together in 2008 on Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, which saw them play the roles of hitmen Ray and Ken who find themselves stuck in the Belgian city and the pair have been friends ever since.

The chemistry between Farrell and Gleeson has been evident since then, and perhaps even more so in The Banshees of Inisherin as the pair play two friends — though Gleeson’s character decides he no longer wants that to be the case.

Both Farrell and Gleeson have been nominated for an Oscar for their performance in the film, which was also directed by Martin McDonagh.

In a recent interview with CBS News, Farrell and Gleeson sat down to talk about everything from Oscar buzz to their friendship. In doing so, Farrell revealed some insight into why they get on so well, and the moment he knew Gleeson was the kind of man you want to be friends with.

When asked what about them clicked, Farrell says it was “just easy”.

“The first time I met him was in a room at the Chelsea Hotel. I had recently put the jar down; I was sober about a year and a half or something like that and he opened the door and went into the room, we sat down,” he says.

“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, he said ‘will you have a drink?’… and he went to a mini bar 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’.

“I swear to God, it was the sweetest thing,” he says as they both giggle.

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

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson pictured on The Late Late Show talking to host Ryan Tubridy following the Irish premiere of The Banshees of Inisherin at the Light House Cinema Dublin. Picture: Andres Poveda

Gleeson feels the same way and describes Farrell as a “true gentleman” which was evident when he escorted White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge to the stage at the Golden Globes this year.

“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 kind friends who were there for you. I don’t find it odd but I knew immediately with him,” explains Gleeson.

“That’s why the friendship lasted. He’s somebody who considers people to an extraordinary degree.” 

Because of the storyline and tension between the characters in The Banshees of Inisherin, Farrell says they had considered possibly keeping their distance from one another off-screen too, but decided against it.

“When we saw each other for the first time in a couple of years to start it, we just said are we going to do a little… you know? And we just looked at each other and we went ah, we don’t need it,” he says.

As for the upcoming Oscars, Farrell, who has been nominated for best actor, says he is enjoying sharing the experience with his cast.

“I still get giddy about the whole thing anyway. Do I need it? No. But is it a bit of craic? Yeah.”

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