Colin Farrell turns on charm for home fans

You can take an Irish lad out of the country but you can’t take away his charm — something Hollywood actor and proud Dubliner Colin Farrell is a constant testament to.

With a twinkle in his eye, the A-lister, who was born and bred in Castleknock, delighted fans in his home county yesterday as he winked and smiled and chatted his way down the red carpet, attending the premier of his new film The Lobster.

Hundreds gathered outside the Light House cinema to get a glimpse of the star, with a lucky few managing to blag autographs and steal selfies with him.

After a welcome like this, surely Colin is glad to be back on Irish soil?

“It’s great to be back. It’s gorgeous. Heaven. I mean this place, you know, I’m like a grain of sand to a beach. It will always be home to me in so many ways and makes sense to me in many ways that America never will,” he said.

“I’m there 12 or 15 years and I’m still not fully used to it and I probably never will be. This is home. This is what I’m used to.”

The actor, who currently lives stateside in Los Angeles, was in town to promote The Lobster, which tells a weird and wonderful tale of a world where singletons have to either find a mate or be turned into an animal of their choice.

As the title suggests, Farrell’s character chooses to be turned into a lobster which, he is told in the movie, is “an excellent choice”.

Fellow cast members include The Mummy actress Rachel Weisz, Step Brothers actor John C Reilly and Skyfall actor Ben Wishaw.

The movie, which was a big hit at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, was filmed in Sneem, Co Kerry and in the wider Kenmare area. Many of the stars stayed in the five-star Parknasilla Hotel in Sneem, spending almost two months on location in the area at the start of last year.

“I loved it, I really did. The west of Ireland is just amazing. It’s where I shot Falling for a Dancer, lifetimes ago, that was in Castletownbere, and then I did Ondine in Castletownbere as well, so this was Sneem, just up the road, a little bit more north,” said Farrell.

“I love that part of the country it’s one of my favourite parts of the world. I was in heaven for three months. It was great to shoot the film there.”

The film’s Greek director, Yorgos Lanthimos, joined Farrell on the red carpet last night and revealed he relentlessly drove around the country looking for the perfect place to film The Lobster before settling on Sneem.

“It’s a beautiful place. Where we were was just magical,” he said.

“I drove around Ireland and I chose this place because of the location of the hotel. We were very lucky to find it.”

The Lobster goes on general release on October 16.