Trailer Park
By Rob Allstetter |
PASADENA, Calif. - Colin Farrell
seems to have hit the target in Daredevil.
As Bullseye,
the Man Without Fear's deadly throwing nemesis, Farrell is already
drawing strong reviews for his over-the-top performance.
And as
much as Bullseye enjoys his job in the movie, Farrell enjoyed
playing him in Daredevil, which reaches theaters on Friday.
"It
was loads of fun. I had a field day doing it," says Farrell,
the 26-year-old Irishman who rarely escapes an interview without
a few profanities. "I had a blast. It was such a good time.
Check your subtlety in at the door and then go for it.
"You
were very aware doing a piece like that you're not restricted
by the realms of reality, you know. It's a comic book-based
story. And the character of Bullseye, more than any of the
others, was always more insane in the comic.
"Matt
Murdock had a thing going on as Daredevil the vigilante at
night and the lawyer during the day. And then Bullseye was
always kind of a lunatic in the comic book itself, so in the
script (we) just took it a little bit further in that vein."
In Daredevil,
Farrell speaks with his native Irish accent for the first
time in a film. That was the idea of Daredevil director Mark
Steven Johnson.
"It was
never established in the comic book where Bullseye was from,"
Farrell says. "So he said, 'Why don't you do it in your Irish
accent?' And I loved the idea, of course. I haven't, in three
years and six or seven films later, I haven't gotten the chance
to use my Irish accent."
Farrell
wasn't familiar with Daredevil before getting the role.
"I
had never heard of it because there's not much of a comic-book
culture from where I come from, like there is over here,"
Farrell says. "But as soon as I met Mark Steven Johnson -
he got his first comic book bought for him when he was eight,
I think - and his passion for the piece was just so contagious
that I quickly understood what the catch was with it."
Johnson
sent Farrell some comics to help, too.
"And
he showed me a lot of artwork and so on and so forth," Farrell
says. "But just between talking with him and reading some
of the books I kind of garnered a greater understanding at
all."
Farrell
says Johnson's passion for Daredevil was never waning.
"He was
a Daredevil fan all his life, a diehard one," Farrell says.
"And he wrote the script, obviously, and he just had an inordinate
amount of love for the characters and the folklore and the
mythology aspect of it and all the religious relevance.
"And
he was just onboard. From Day One, he was involved with costumes,
he got the music together, he got all these amazing bands
together to do the soundtrack. He just had his finger in every
bit of the pie and the creative process. And was just an inspiration
to be around.
"On the
set, you'd be doing long days and bulbs burst and you go behind
on schedule and shit happens, and at times you'd get frustrated.
And he was always just really optimistic and his love for
the project always shone through. He was just fantastic to
be around.
"He'd
play rock 'n roll music in between the set-ups. Two o'clock
in the morning in downtown Los Angeles, he's on a rooftop
and U2 would be blasting out while the crews are going around
doing their business. It was just a great set to be on. Just
great to be around.
"He had
great ideas with Bullseye, the physicality of him and what
he would like to be as a creature."
Despite
having a huge fight with Daredevil. Farrell didn't actually
act that much with Daredevil star Ben Affleck.
"There
was so much green screen and CGI stuff that it was either
him on the set doing bits and pieces on his own or me," Farrell
says.
"I didn't
exactly get to sit across the table from him and do dialogue
scenes. I never really got the feeling that I got the chance
to work with him. But he's a great guy."
Fighting
with Jennifer Garner's
Elektra was a different story.
"That
fight was more fun because it wasn't segmented," Farrell says.
"It wasn't so disjointed. And we got to go from start to finish.
And it was close combat stuff."
Asked
if Alias star Garner could kick his ass, Farrell laughs. "Probably,
yeah," he says. "I'd put my money on her. She's a tough bird.
Very tough."
Farrell,
who brought Britney Spears to his premiere of The Recruit,
insists he isn't involved with the singer - "She's a nice
girl," he says. He brought his mother, brother and sisters
to the premiere of Daredevil on Sunday.
Daredevil
was part of Farrell's contract with New Regency, so he isn't
signed for a sequel. However, if you stick around for the
credits after Daredevil, you can see that Bullseye could return,
and Farrell says he'd be interested in returning.
"If Mark
was involved, yeah," Farrell says. "If Mark Steven Johnson
was involved."
Rob
Allstetter, Deputy Sports Editor for The Detroit News, has
been a comics journalist for the past decade, having written
for numerous publications. He currently publishes The Comics
Continuum. He can be reached at RobAlls@aol.com.
The
Trailer Park Archive |
- July
2 2003 - Hellboy
- June
25, 2003 - Ang Lee
- June
18, 2003 - Eric Bana
- June
11, 2003 - Spider-Man Animation
- June
4 , 2003 - Lou Ferrigno
- May
27 , 2003 - Teen Titans
- May
20 , 2003 - Bryan Singer
- May
14 , 2003 - Al Gough
- May
8 , 2003 - Kelly Hu
- April
22, 2003 - Aaron Stanford
- April
18, 2003 - James Marsden
- April
15, 2003 - Jaime King
- April
8, 2003 - Halle Berry
- April
2, 2003 - Anna Paquin
- March
26 , 2003 - Scott McNeil
- March
21 , 2003 - Alan Cumming
- March
18 , 2003 - Michael Rosenbaum
- March
14 , 2003 - Ted Raimi: The "Other" Raimi Is Coming Back
- March
11 , 2003 - Maria Canals likes the call of the wild
- March
7 , 2003 - John Shea - Welcome to Mutant X
- March
4 , 2003 - Anthony Cistaro - Witchblade
- February
27 , 2003 - David Kaye - Professor X
- February
18 , 2003 - Victor Webster
- February
14 , 2003 - Ben Affleck
- February
11 , 2003 - Colin Farrell
- February
7 , 2003 - Comic Controversy?
- January
31 , 2003 - Static Shock
- January
24 , 2003 - Jennifer Garner
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