Colin Farrell is starting a foundation to honor his son James — and giving a rare glimpse at their life together in the process.
The actor gushed about his “magic” 21-year-old, who has Angelman syndrome, in his People cover story published Wednesday.
“I want the world to be kind to James,” he told the magazine. “I want the world to treat him with kindness and respect.”
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Farrell, 48, noted that “once your child turns 21, they’re kind of on their own,” explaining, “All the safeguards that are put in place, special ed classes, that all goes away, so you’re left with a young adult who should be an integrated part of our modern society and more often than not is left behind.”
This inspired the “Total Recall” star to launch the Colin Farrell Foundation, which he promoted with a backyard photo shoot for People.
“I can’t ask James if he wants to do this,” said Farrell, who is also the father of 14-year-old son Henry.
He clarifed, “I mean, I can. I speak to James as if he’s 20 and has perfect fluency with the English language and age-appropriate cognitive ability. But I can’t discern a particular answer from him as to whether he’s comfortable with all this or not.
“So I have to make a call based on knowing James’ spirit and what kind of young man he is and the goodness that he has in his heart,” he continued.
With that in mind, Farrell concluded, “If James knew getting his photograph in the back garden with me … could help families and other young adults who live with special needs, he would say, ‘Dad, what are you talking about? Why are you even asking me? It’s a no-brainer.'”
The Oscar nominee welcomed James in 2003 with his then-girlfriend, Kim Bordenave.
The former couple filed for conservatorship of their son in May 2021 when he was 17.
In the new interview, Farrell praised James, who has a live-in caretaker, for having to “work so hard all his life.”
He said, “Repetition, repetition, balance, his jerky gait. When he started feeding himself for the first time, his face looks like a Jackson Pollock by the end of it. But he gets it in, he feeds himself beautifully.”
He called his child “magic,” gushing, “I’m proud of him every day.”
Although Farrell rarely speaks about his son’s rare neurogenetic disorder, he told “Today” show viewers in 2017 that raising a special needs child is “brutal” at times.
“They can tear at the very fabric of your heart, but the love shared and the pure strength and heroism observed is the needle and thread that mends all tears,” he said at the time.
