“I wish the world would be kind to James,” the actor says of his son, who, at 21, needs constant supervision.
Colin Farrell confides like never before in the magazine Peoplefor a good cause. At 48, the actor who will soon return as Penguin speaks for the first time about the illness of his son, James, who has just celebrated his 20th birthday. He tells how they discovered, with his partner at the time – the model Kim Bordenave – that their child had Angelman syndrome, a very rare disease of genetic origin.
“Baby, we thought he was very quiet,” he said, moved. “That we had hit the jackpot, we never heard him…”
But when babies start to babble, and then talk, James said nothing. Except for screams and uncontrolled laughter. He couldn't crawl, or walk at all.
Colin Farrell then talks about the importance of the diagnosis, made very young for his son, which allows parents to really start the steps that will allow their child to be as well supported as possible. To be followed, supported day by day to move forward in life.
“I will always remember the day I saw him walk for the first time, Colin Farrell also explains, with tears in his eyes. It was two weeks before his fourth birthday. He was so proud, so strong…”
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The Irish comedian, who has a second son, Henry Tadeuz, from another relationship and who is not disabled, details how all the support he received following his son's diagnosis helped him personally. To become sober, in particular to completely stop his heavy drinking.
The actor, recently nominated for an Oscar for his touching role in The Banshees of Inisherindescribes his concern as he sees his son's 21st birthday approaching. Once he is an adult, he will no longer have access to the various support programs he had until now. That is why Colin decided to create his own foundation, in his name, to help all young adults who, like James, have intellectual and motor disabilities. To help their parents feel less guilty, and to offer them a place where they can do activities as a family.
Taking the example of James, his strength, his willingness to learn despite the fact that “everything becomes more complicated” With his Angelman syndrome, Colin Farrell expresses his approach as follows:
“I wish the world would be kind to my son. When your child turns 21, they're kind of on their own. All the protective measures that are in place, the special classes, all that goes away, and you're left with a young adult who should be fully integrated into our society but who, very often, finds himself pushed aside.”
Recounting his pride in James' progress over the years, he is relieved to see his child so happy despite significant symptoms. He also says he explained the process to him, hoping that he would understand his desire to put himself forward alongside him, to take advantage of his fame as an actor to try to help people who, like James, “have specific needs”he repeats.
“I talk to him like a 20-year-old, as if he has a perfect command of the language, but I can't tell if he's comfortable with all this or not, he concludes. He can't give me a straight answer, so I had to make this decision myself, to pose with him in the garden, like that, when it's not an exercise that makes me very comfortable. I'm sure he would have told me to go for it if he had understood that I'm doing all this for him and people with special needs. It's all for James, in his honor, and for those who have earned the right to more autonomy, more individuality.”
For more information or to support his initiative, here is the official website of the Colin Farrell Foundation