ACTOR CHAMELEON –
Sept. 25, 2025 – “It’s pretty well-chronicled now my history with addiction, but I don’t think you have to be an addict to play an addict,” he said frankly. I suppose I have some form of OCD that is given good life in regard to acting because you get to obsess about the characters and maybe imagine their history.”
“Ballad of a Small Player” is playing in official selection at the Basque festival just a year after Berger’s “Conclave” bowed at the same event. Adapted from Lawrence Osborne’s novel, the film finds Lord Doyle adrift in the Eastern gambling mecca of Macau as his past and debts catch up with him. Close to breaking point, the man encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.
Speaking about the practicalities of playing a gambler, Farrell recalled spending time within Macau’s sprawling casinos and learning about an addiction he is “thankful” to not have experienced. “Gambling is one affliction that never really came near me. I’m glad to say I only damaged my body and my brain, not my bank account.”
