How Colin Farrell Mastered His Texan Accent For Tigerland
Colin Farrrell's proven preparation efforts have helped make the Oscar nominee one of the greatest Irish actors. Despite growing up in Dublin, the actor has managed to pull off many roles without his Irish accent, with several parts requiring the star to embrace an American articulation. While some endeavors have him sounding like most people in the States, for the feature "Tigerland," Farrell had to adopt a Texan accent for the part, which required some extensive fieldwork to pull off.
Although the feature wasn't a box office hit, the '70s era period piece was a critically acclaimed favorite. "Tigerland" was one of the actor's earliest headlining gigs, and his performance led to more starring roles in flicks with successful box office runs like "The Recruit," "Phone Booth," and "S.W.A.T." But to pull off playing Private Roland Bozz in the 2000 war drama and give the character an authentic accent, Farrell had to embrace the culture that the persona came from, which meant knocking back a few cold ones with the locals.
"A lot of pints were drunk in Texas," the actor revealed in an interview with The Guardian. "'I went there by myself for a while before the film started and just hung out in bars, chatting to people, trying to do it that way. But you know what? I found it very difficult to swear in a Texan accent." Despite the difficulty articulating curse words in a Texan tongue, Farrell's careful planning paid off, which shouldn't be all that surprising as the actor has a reputation for going to great lengths to prepare for his projects.
Talking like a penguin and sounding American have been challenging for Farrell
Whether putting on weight for roles in "The Lobster" or surviving panic attacks shooting underwater in "Thirteen Lives," there is no denying that Colin Farrell goes all out to ensure audiences get the best performance possible. Another example of Farrell's next-level dedication involves The Penguin and the accent in which he speaks.
"The Batman" role required Farrell to bulk up and endure prosthetic and makeup application over a long period to become Oswald Cobblepot. But it wasn't just the visuals that needed extra attention. Cobblepot's accent came from working with dialect coach Jessica Drake, and in a recent interview, the actor explained what she brought to the table. "It's not just about sound," the actor said in an interview with Entertainmentie. "You do a deep dive into character knowing that you know your socioeconomic background, where you come from, how many siblings, what your parents were like all that kind." Their extensive efforts paid off and helped separate his version from past portrayals.
While crafting The Penguin's sound seemed daunting, Farrell admitted which accent he finds the most difficult. "Honest to God, I tried a couple of times to do, I don't know what you'd call it, standard American," the actor said while eating wings on "Hot Ones." "I find that the trickiest. Because generalities don't really help you as an actor. The more specific you can be of course and then within the specificity that you've found yourself aligned with then there's room for play." Fortunately, "Tigerland" required a Texan accent, which, thanks to his effective bar-hopping strategy, led to a performance in a film some revere as one of Farrell's best movies.