Jackie Spafford
By Jackie Spafford
If you were lucky enough to attend the Virtuosos Award event Wednesday night you were probably charmed by Kerry Condon’s lovely accent and cheeky storytelling. Thursday’s award event gave us even more of that Irish energy, with her two countrymen and Banshees of Inisherin co-stars, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. (And the moderator was again Dave Karger, who always does a professional and reliable job.)
We learned about their long friendship, which began prior to their first co-starring effort in the Martin McDonagh film In Bruges (2006). According to Farrell, they met at the Chelsea Hotel. Gleeson recalls thinking Farrell had great integrity, and was a “great craic” (definition: a good laugh).
They both spoke about their early acting lives. At one time Gleeson was a literature teacher at a Catholic school. Farrell noted that if he had been his student he might have finished school. When asked what subject he would teach if he were a teacher, Farrell answered “truancy.”
Colin Farrell, Martin McDonagh, and Brendan Gleeson (Photo: Fritz Olenberger)
The first film clip they showed for Gleeson was from The General (1998) in which he played the real-life Dublin criminal boss Martin Cahill, directed by John Boorman. He was very convincing as the sinister character, who Farrell recalled hearing about in the news when he was young. Among the many memorable clips showing Gleeson’s incredible body of work was Into the Storm (2009) where he played Winston Churchill, and for which he won an Emmy award.
The first clip for Farrell was from Tigerland (2000) in which he played an American soldier with a Southern accent. He recalled how he was extremely cocky at the time and convinced director Joel Schumacher that he could pull it off; luckily he managed to. His varied and impressive body of work included The Batman (2022) in which he was unrecognizable behind prosthetics playing Oz/the Penguin. (He noted that this is now being developed into a series, which elicited cheers from the audience.)
They first worked together in the dark comedy In Bruges (2008), in which they played hapless hitmen stuck in Bruges, Belgium. Apparently McDonagh had written the parts as Cockney, but after meeting the actors he revised them to speak “Dublinese.”
This led to the discussion about The Banshee of Inisherin, and the conflict between their characters. If you’ve seen the film you know that Gleeson’s character breaks off their long friendship because he finds Farrell’s character too “dull.” Farrell described that decision as a “violent act,” and declared that there’s really no such thing as a dull human – there is always something to discover in a person.
The final question was about Jenny the donkey from the film. Farrell said that she is “living large” after her acting debut – all carrots and flowers.
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Martin McDonagh (Photo: Fritz Olenberger)
The evening ended with the award presentation by Martin McDonagh himself, who laughingly noted that the film and actors were nominated for multiple Golden Globes – Farrell won for best actor, “but I won jack shit” (for best director). Gleeson dedicated his award to his wife, Mary; Farrell dedicated his to his sister, Claudine, who he described as a strong presence in his life as well as the person who does all “the heavy lifting” for him personally and professionally.
It was clear that the three men shared immense affection for each other, and this will not be the last project they work on together.
The 38th Santa Barbara International Film Festival runs through February 18. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and celebrity tributes, will be held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre. Passes and tickets are on sale now at sbiff.org.
