Colin Farrell has revealed how his past struggles with addiction shaped his performance in Ballad of a Small Player.
At the San Sebastián Film Festival with Edward Berger’s Ballad of a Small Player, the 49-year-old Irish actor opened up about how he prepared himself to play gambling addict Lord Doyle in the thriller.
Speaking at the forthcoming film’s press conference, Farrell said, “It’s pretty well-chronicled now my history with addiction, but I don’t think you have to be an addict to play an addict. I found [Doyle’s] internal push and pull to be a lovely place to start.”
Referring to his character, he added, “He is somebody who doesn’t believe in his own worth, who is very self-centered to the point of being despicable.”
“I still don’t have answers to anything in the script; I just have the experience of being in front of the camera with my fellow actors. As far as preparations go, I suppose I have some form of OCD that is given good life in regard to acting because you get to obsess about the characters and maybe imagine their history, their own personal kind of origin story,” The Batman stated.
Ballad of a Small Player is based on Lawrence Osborne’s novel and follows Doyle in Macau, where his past and debts catch up with him. Near breaking point, he meets someone who might hold the key to his salvation.
Shedding light on the practicalities of portraying a gambler, Farrell said he spent time within Macau’s casinos and learnt about an addiction he is grateful to not have had.
“Gambling is one affliction that never really came near me. I’m glad to say I only damaged my body and my brain, not my bank account,” he remarked.
Ballad of a Small Player is showing in the official selection at the Basque festival, one year after Berger’s Conclave premiered there.
It is pertinent to mention that Ballad of a Small Player is set to hit cinemas in the United States on October 16, 2025, while it opens in the United Kingdom and Ireland the very next day, i.e., October 17. The film will debut on Netflix on October 29.