Colin Farrell said early 'Banshees of Inisherin' script had shootouts, more action

Actor Colin Farrell has a much fuller trophy case today than he did last week at this time.

On Friday, he took home the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards, and four days later, he won the Golden Globe for lead actor in a comedy, thanks to his role in the movie "Banshees of Inisherin," the dark tragicomedy directed expertly by Martin McDonagh.

On Friday, the morning after the PSIFF gala, Farrell hosted a Talking Picture screening of "Banshees of Inisherin" at the Palm Springs Cultural Center and held a Q&A session afterward.

Wearing a brown coat and a thick blue headband, Farrell shared anecdotes about working with the animals in the film, the special relationship between he and McDonagh, and that the movie originally contained much more action, including shootouts. That last bit certainly was a surprise to those who've seen the movie. These are the five most interesting moments from the discussion.

Did you say shootouts?

Farrell revealed that when he first laid on the script it was much more action-heavy than the finished result.

"I had read an iteration of 'Banshees' about seven years ago and I thought it was extraordinary and it was lot more plot-driven — which isn't hard, one man decides not to be friends with another — but it was a lot more plot-driven there were some shootouts and action and I loved it. Martin thought it was (crap)," Farrell said with a laugh. "His bar for success is quite a bit higher than mine. I was ready to go on it. He said, 'I've got to put it on the shlef and I'll work on it at some stage.'"

Farrell's process

Farrell revealed that when he got the script from McDonagh, he made sure the conditions were just perfect for reading it. He considered it an event. He made a nice cup of tea and went out to his garden. He printed it out because he didn't want to read it on the screen. And then he dug in.

"I opened the first page and I was very excited and kind of almost nervous because Martin means a lot to me and his words mean a lot to me," Farrell said. "I was nervous and it's a bit like, 'What is he going to ask me to do this time?' or 'Am I going to prefer Brendan's part?' And Brendan told me he thinks the same way. But I loved it."

While McDonagh, having a theater background, likes to rehearse before shooting a movie, Farrell said he very intentionally does not have a routine or process that he uses for every project. His process is to not have a process.

"People often ask 'Do you like to rehearse or not rehearse? What way do you like to work?' And I have no answer to that question, sincerely. And I'm glad I don't have an answer to that question, because if I did I might pursue a replication of that style and process every time and I don't want to work the same way every time. So I just lean into the director."

McDonagh Mr. Nice Guy

There may be a misconception in the movie world that McDonagh is a tough director to work with in the sense that he likes to do things a certain way. Farrell, who also teamed up with him in the film "In Bruges," said that's hogwash.

"He's easy. Martin is a really lovely man. When I say that people are like 'Really?' Like they're expecting some guy with a black hood and a scythe, the grim reaper to be walking around with a really acerbic sense of humor. But Martin is a quick-witted, kind dude, loves animals as you can tell. He never says it explicitly, he kind of innately demands that in the working environment you share it's just all about kindness. Genuinely. There's a sense of family, which is why he often works with not just the same actors over and over again, but the same crew."

Animal magnetism

The film is set 100 years ago on the Irish countryside, when working with animals was an integral part of everyone's daily routine. A donkey, a dog, horses, almost every scene seemed to have an animal in it somewhere.

Farrell was asked what the best part and worst part about acting with animals was.

"The best part is the same as the worst part. They just do whatever they want," he said to laughter. "On film sets so much is catered to the actors. You get a bit spoiled, you take your time and you do your thing and you want another this and you want another that and the animals come on the set and there is just one boss, and it's Jenny the Donkey.

"It's all about her. The place goes very quiet. 'Jenny's coming on the set!' It gets you out of yourself. Gets you out of your head and makes the moments that can be kind of somewhat immersed in artifice on a film set very, very real because animals are very authentic. And she wasn't trained away from her authenticity. She went where she wanted when she wanted, her little bell ringing. I love working with animals."

Farrell's take on the film

The movie is emotional and heart-wrenching at times, deeply comedic at times. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll gasp. But as is often the case, actors have a beautiful way of describing the film they're in and what makes it special.

"I was deeply moved by it. I was deeply disturbed by it. I was shocked by it and it was funny," Farrell said upon reading McDonagh's revised script for the first time. "The situations he puts people in and the way people articulate their points of view in Martin's world, it can be incredibly funny ... until it's not. The comedy is kind of masking or becomes a conduit into more tragic elements that are really the cornerstone of the films that he does, because as irreverent as they are and as comedic as his films can be, at their core, I feel all of them are searching for some kind of understanding of human beings, of human loneliness and the experience of what it is to be a person in this world."

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Colin Farrell pulls curtain back on making of 'Banshees of Inisherin'