Colin Farrell and Emma Fogarty: 'One of the best things that happened to me in my career'

As a deeply personal documentary about their journey to the Dublin Marathon premieres tonight, Colin Farrell and Emma Fogarty reflect on their friendship, resilience, and Taylor Swift, writes Esther McCarthy

Actor Colin Farrell with his close friend Emma Fogarty, running in the Irish Life Dublin Marathon in Dublin, to raise money for people living with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare genetic skin condition suffered by Ms Fofarty.

It is just days before the world premiere of their documentary The Slightest Touch, and Emma Fogarty and Colin Farrell are thrilled to be bringing their film home.

The story of their Dublin Marathon adventures and a lot more besides has Emma excited, elated, and also a little nervous at the prospect of being up on the big screen.

“Welcome to my fucking world now!’ laughs Colin, who has featured on so many of our screens over the years and knows very well how his friend is feeling.

Colin Farrell and Emma Fogarty in The Slightest Touch

After all, this one is personal. Rachel Fleit’s powerful, profoundly moving film documents how as she turned 40 —an age doctors told her she would never reach — Emma took up an offer from Colin to run the Dublin Marathon. She would join him for his final 4k, with Colin pushing her wheelchair over the finishing line.

In doing so, they hoped to raise €400,000 for Debra Ireland, the charity in support of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), the rare and extremely painful skin condition Emma lives with.

Their efforts inspired us and brought out the best of us, and Irish people got behind them in our droves — over €1m was raised for Debra. At the end of 2024, listeners to RTÉ’s Liveline voted it their favourite moment of the year, a result that left them particularly chuffed.

Actor Colin Farrell with Emma Fogarty during the 2024 Irish Life Dublin Marathon. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

“That’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me in my career,” says Colin.

“Joe Duffy’s number one moment of the year — seriously. The film feels like a bit of a tribute to the spirit of our people, as much as to the friendship that Emma and I share. To come home and celebrate and have the world premiere there — there couldn’t be any more right turn of events than how it’s being played out. The story was born of the country, and it should premiere in the country.”

Over a year after thousands of people cheered them to the finish line, it’s clear they are both still deeply moved by the good wishes and affection they felt that day. “You never felt love like it,” says Emma. “Whoever was running that marathon, they all felt the love, I hope they did — I certainly felt it.

Hollywood star Colin Farrell meets friend Emma Fogarty 4km from the finish line of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon. Completing a mammoth fundraising drive for Debra. Photo: Alejandra Livschitz/Debra

“The fact that we did the last 4k together, it was just so special for me, and then to have the crowd get behind us so much, almost pushing us over that line. I know it’s a moment I will never forget crossing that line and seeing it in front of me and going: ‘Oh my god, we’re here. We’ve talked about this for so long, and now we’re about to cross that finish line’.

“It was just the most special moment, and definitely a moment I will take to my last breath.”

Actor Colin Farrell and Abbeyleix woman Emma Fogarty cross the finish line at the 2024 Dublin Marathon. Photo: Sportsfile

It was only revealed in recent weeks that Emma and Colin’s build-up to that exhilarating day was closely followed by a documentary film crew. Tonight the film will have its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival, with Colin, Emma and the filmmakers in attendance.Tissues will be required for the sold-out screening at The Lighthouse, in which the two look at how their friendship has grown over the years.

Emma Fogarty and Colin Farrell pictured at the Irish premiere of The Banshees of Inisherin.

They also explore their own lives within that friendship. Colin talks about how he watches Ireland getting closer and closer on his flight screen when he’s flying home. He speaks of his love for his boys Henry and James, who was born with the rare condition, Angelman syndrome.

Emma talks about the numerous and very real physical and emotional impacts EB has had on her life. The rare and painful condition leaves sufferers’ skin as fragile as butterfly wings. She is now a wheelchair user and no longer has the use of her fingers, as they have been fused together by scar tissue. In the film she talks about how important and restorative the music of artists such as Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay has been to her.

Taylor Swift’s song Don’t Blame Me features in a key scene in the film. The US artist generously agreed to the song being used — and required no fee — within days of its use being requested.

“Taylor is someone who would be very in control of all of her stuff,” says Colin. “As Em knows, we sent Taylor over the scene where her music features, and also the whole film. And within 48 hours, we got back a note saying: it’s yours.”

Firm friends Colin Farrell and Emma Fogarty pictured on The Late Late Show last October. Photo: Andres Poveda

Emma, a huge Swift fan, was greatly moved by this development. “Even if she only watched the three minutes, it was amazing to know that she saw me in the bed, she saw the bandages. She saw my hands, and me trying to hold the phone just to sing along to her song. She saw some degree of EB for three minutes — and that is great.”

Emma and Colin have been friends for 16 years, having met at a charity dinner Colin was attending for Debra Ireland. They clicked quickly and stayed in touch, but Emma says that the friendship has evolved in recent years.

“We built a foundation over emails at first and it was only two or three over a year at the start, and then it just grew and grew. There were a couple of moments, but the biggest moment for me was when I lost my leg.”

In her book Being Emma, she writes powerfully about a skin cancer diagnosis in 2019 that led to the amputation of her leg, and the huge impacts that had on her. She writes about how she felt her life completely changed that year.

Being Emma by Emma Fogarty

“He was the one who rang me a couple of times, and was like: ‘How’s your head? How are you doing? and talked me through it. There’s such a stigma still about your mental health,” says Emma, adding that sometimes people are afraid to ask, because they’re afraid of the answer.

“Colin wasn’t.

“And the fact that he gave up his time with his children to ring me just to say: ‘How’s your head? How are you doing? Are you all right, I’m just checking in.’

“I just thought, you know what? He didn’t have to do that. He doesn’t have to email me, to text me, and he certainly didn’t have to ring me. I think we’ve only strengthened, even since I’ve lost my leg, I think we’ve only grown because he’s coming to the house to meet my parents and my family. We’ve just grown. I was going to say I’m very private. Not now I’m not! But my life at the time was very private, and I wouldn’t tell everyone everything.

“There was just something about Colin that I thought I can trust him. I can trust him.”

Colin too, treasures their growing friendship and his friend’s love of life.

“Emma has, on paper and in reality, more reason to feel shite than anyone else I’ve ever met.

Making the documentary has deepened their connection still, and filmmaker Rachel Fleit brings a strong sense of intimacy and empathy to the resulting film.

A seasoned, award-winning documentary maker, she got on board after meeting Colin, and then Emma, in the early stages. Her previous films include Selma Blair, which follows the US actress as she attempts to adapt to new ways of living after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

“For me, it was so important to give Emma the opportunity to really tell her story and show the world what it’s like to have EB. I think my only real challenge was to make sure that we got all of the footage that we could from the marathon. The Dublin City Marathon organisers gave us so much help and so much support.”

The best way to capture the spirit of the day, Fleit believed, was to join her subjects in running the final 4k.

“I did run the last four kilometres with my cinematographer, and we used a tiny camera to capture as much as we could. We had cameras rigged on the wheelchair, and we had cameras rigged on the runners that were running around Colin.

“When we worked on the score and the sound mix of the film I tried to recreate the feeling of that last four kilometres, so when you’re in the theatre, or even at home, I hope that you can experience some of that atmosphere.”

Patrick Kielty with Emma Fogarty and Colin Farrell

Early in the film, Emma says: “This won’t be easy, but I want you to know that this is my life,” before showing the filmmakers how EB has impacted on her physically as well as mentally.

She undergoes regular bandage changes — it’s a striking testimony, and one the Co Laois woman felt was important to bring to the screen.

“I think you could explain EB very well. You can throw out all the words about EB in the world. You can say every word about how awful it is, how cruel it is. But seeing them is a totally different thing. When you see them, you go, oh shit. This is real. It was really hard, but I wanted the world, hopefully, to see it and to see how evil this thing is.”

Emma, who has advocated for many years for other people with EB, says in the film that she’s lucky to have public health nurses for her bandage changes, because not everyone does. She feels the State “really needs to step up” and would like to see dedicated public health nurses for all patients with EB.

“They’re the ones that are keeping me out of hospital. They’re the ones who call it that something’s different. They’re vitally important. So the State really needs to step up, because there’s not a huge amount of patients.”

Colin Farrell with his Golden Globe for his performances as the title character in 'The Penguin' Picture: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

With an estimated 300 people living with varying levels of EB in Ireland, Colin is backing Emma’s call.

“For the amount that it would cost, the relief that 300 of Ireland’s sons and daughters would experience. I go back to something that Emma shared with me, and she’s spoken about publicly as well, the  importance of allowing the families, the caregivers, to not be... sometimes mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters are changing bandages. There should be support in place. We have pushed and gotten a certain something, but it wasn’t enough.

“We’ll push again, and hopefully the film can begin to move the needle again in the right direction, and we can tackle it anew.”

• Backed by Screen Ireland, ‘The Slightest Touch’ premieres tonight at Dublin International Film Festival. It will debut on HBO later this year and stream globally on HBO Max, including its new UK and Irish service. Being Emma: Living My Best Life with Butterfly Skin, published by Merrion Press, is available now.