It was a huge night for Colin Farrell and The Banshees of Inisherin at the Golden Globes on Tuesday night, with Farrell taking home the award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture.
Farrell was not the only winner, with the film also winning Best Screenplay for Martin McDonagh and, in the biggest scoop of the night, Best Picture - Musical or Comedy.
It was a massive sweep for the Irish production, with fellow stars Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan all also nominated for acting gongs.
Colin Farrell gave the most energetic acceptance speech of the night, after claiming his second Golden Globe - and he emotionally paid tribute to his co-star Brendan Gleeson, who he said he "aspired" to be like.
Colin Farrell claims Golden Globe for Best Actor
It is now 15 years since Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson were brought together to star in Martin McDonagh's debut feature length film In Bruges, and both stars have gone from strength to strength ever since.
After taking a well-deserved Best Actor gong at Tuesday's Golden Globe Awards, Farrell gave a special mention to Gleeson in his acceptance speech. He said that Gleeson's brilliance on set and on screen was what drove him on on set, in a beautiful appraisal of one of Ireland's greatest actors:
I love you so much. I love you so much. To get to cohabitate this creative space with you every day...all I did when I came to work every day was aspire to be your equal - I'm not saying I even got there, but the aspiration kept me going. I thank you for that for the rest of my days also.
The 14 year gap between Bruges and Banshees did not impact on the pair's on-screen chemistry, with Farrell and Gleeson still rip-roaringly funny, and movingly sombre on screen together during their most recent collaboration.
So much of that is down to the brilliance of director Martin McDonagh, and Farrell thanked him for bringing him together with Gleeson for In Bruges all those years ago:
I owe you so much, man. 14 years ago you put me working with Brendan Gleeson, my dance partner. You changed the trajectory of my life forever in ways that I begrudgingly will be grateful to you for the rest of my days.
The Banshees of Inisherin, set on a fictional Aran Island during the Irish Civil War, grew in popularity from a limited cinema release, to become one of the favourites to take home the big prizes this awards season. Farrell would say that an audience is what makes a film great and that he had been "horrifed by what's happened with Banshees in recent months, in a thrilling kind of way."
Colin Farrell wins the award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture at the #GoldenGlobes. pic.twitter.com/gfzrB0JGBw
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) January 11, 2023
The beautiful west of Ireland plays as a stunning backdrop for Banshees, and Farrell thanked the locals of Inishmore and Achill, for making the cast and crew feeling so welcome throughout production.
He also thanked fellow co-stars Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan - while poking fun at Keoghan for a story he recounted on the Late Late Show in October:
Kerry - to finally see the world after 20 years of acting - find your work, you are extraordinary.
Barry, when you're sharing a house with an actor you're working with, here's a word of advice - don't eat his Crunchy Nut cornflakes and leave him with no breakfast! Never send a man to work on an empty belly!
Of course, the final thank you of the night from Colin Farrell (before he thanked his family) had to go to the beloved Jenny the Donkey - perhaps Farrell's most impressive Banshees co-star.
With the Oscar nominations just around the corner (announced on Tuesday January 24), the cast and crew of Banshees will be hoping that their success at the Golden Globes bodes well.
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