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Jim Sheridan: Colin Farrell was almost the 'next mess up'

Feb 23, 2013, 6:01 GMT

Colin Farrell at the US-Ireland Alliance\'s Oscar Wilde party

Jim Sheridan admires how Colin Farrell turned his life around.

The 'Seven Psychopaths' actor checked into rehab in 2006 after his partying got out of control and director and close friend Jim admits Colin was on course to become the 'next mess up' before he got clean.

Speaking at the eighth annual Oscar Wilde: Honouring the Irish in Film party at 'Lost' producer J.J Abrams' Bad Robot Productions in Santa Monica on Thursday (21.02.13), Jim told BANG Showbiz: 'Colin is impressive, not just as an actor but as a person. We all know he had his ups and downs and there was a time when he was going to be the next mess up but he left it all behind him and became a great lad.'

Jim also believes it is the 36-year-old actor's likeability that has helped him bounce back and says everyone can relate to his problems.

He explained: 'In Ireland we admire Daniel Day Lewis and respect Liam Neeson but somewhere inside us we love Colin, because we're just waiting for him to f**k up you know. We're just waiting for him to fall in the s**t and be like us.

'Talent and good looks help when you're trying to make it in the entertainment industry, Colin has them in spades. Deep down he is such a great guy and it comes across on screen, he has that charisma that just comes across. The first time he was ever on screen he was a star. You see it.'

Other stars who turned out to support Colin as he was feted at the US-Ireland Alliance's annual bash included Steven Spielberg, Christopher Walken, Warren Beatty, Wes Bentley, Peter Gallagher, Jason O'Mara and Alan O'Neill.