Phone Booth or In Bruges? Minority Report or The Gentlemen?
Irish acting legend Colin Farrell has captured viewers hearts and minds for decades throughout his career and is considered one of the greatest stars in Hollywood.
The Dubliner has worked with the biggest name in film from US legends like Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise and to Irish national treasures including Brendan Gleeson, Brenda Fricker and Kenneth Branagh.
Farrell’s good looks and charm have also seen him as a long standing heart-throb of both Ireland and Hollywood.
During an appearance on US chat host Jimmy Kimmel’s show, he explained that he had taken a DNA test and discovered that he was “about, ballpark, 98.7% Irish”.
Farrell added: “I was so disappointed I’m not the real deal.”
It is his natural Dublin accent that has helped established Farrell as one of Ireland’s leading stars around the world.
However, like most actors, on occasions Farrell has been criticised when putting on another accent for a role.
He once explained that the toughest accent he would get asked to do for a role was ‘standard American’.
“I find that the trickiest. Cos generalities don’t really help you as an actor, the more specific you can be is better.
“Just general American accent just sounds vague it almost sounds insulting like you’re not respecting the character or the script.”
A convincing accent is a huge challenge for actors when required to adopt an unfamiliar one to their own, and Farrell is no exception.
We decided to find out once and for all whether the Dublin star is a better accent with or without his Irish accent.
To measure the success of his performances, we took Farrell’s top five ranked movies from his career, on imdb. Can’t get more scientific than that.
And the results are in.
Farrell’s brilliant portrayal of ‘guilt-stricken hitman’ Ray in the 2008 hit In Bruges is his top ranked film on imdb with a 7.9 star rating, putting his natural Irish accent at the top of the list.
The lead is short lived though, as Farrell’s impressive US accent in the 2002 blockbuster Minority Report ties the contest for his two most popular films. Boasting an imdb 7.6 star rating, Minority Report, was one of the roles that helped Farrell establish himself as a Hollywood star working alongside Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise.
Third on imdb with a 7.5 star rating is Saving Mr Banks, a moving tale of author P.L. Travers meeting with Walt Disney about her book Mary Poppins. Farrell played Travers Robert Goff the lead character’s father in Australia.
The Way Back from 2010 is his fourth highest ranking on the site with 7.3 stars. In this gritty thriller Farrell plays a veteran Russian prison gambler.
Farrell’s fifth entry on imdb is in 1999 drama The War Zone where he plays the Irish boyfriend of a London family that carries a dark secret.
Colin Farrell with his Irish accent: Two, and Colin Farrell with another accent: Three.
Five great movies, and five versatile performances from our Irish hero, and the question is finally answered, Colin Farrell is a better actor without his Irish accent.
