Dublin native Colin Farrell has often spoke about how his first TV appearance as Danny Byrne on series Ballykissangel was the catalyst for his stellar acting career that was to follow.
The In Bruges star is well known for his roles in movies such as Minority Report, The Batman and most recently his first Oscar nomination for best actor in The Banshees of Inisherin, however none of this would have been possible if it wasn't for his debut role on rural Irish TV series Ballykissangel.
Farrell told The Sun in 2015 that it: "was one of the f*****g greatest things" he ever did.
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Let's take a trip down memory lane and have a look back at where it all began when Farrell played Danny Byrne on Ballykissangel in 1998 and 1999.
The drama TV series which was shot in Wicklow is set in the fictional Irish rural town of Ballykissangel and focuses on a young British priest who arrives here and is having troubling adjusting to a life that centres around the church and the pub. The series has the perfect amount of drama and romance, while Fr. Peter Clifford must adjust to the small town gossips.
Colin Farrell makes his entrance to the show in season five when Danny Byrne enters the town on a horse to visit his uncle who lived in Ballykissangel, after he had gotten into some trouble in Tallaght.
Speaking on LM FM last month, camera man Joe Conlon who worked on the TV series and with Colin Farrell before he became the mega star he is today said: "He was a star to work with, he really was.
I think the funniest thing I remember was the storyline where there was meant to be a tax coming in on sheep and Dannys uncle got the impression that they could be counted from a satellite so he put these boxes out in the field with fur over them to make them look like sheep. There was one part of the show where Colin had to catch sheep and I spent an hour teaching him how to catch a sheep."
Speaking about Farrell career after the show Joe said: "He was such a nice man, the only way he could go was up. Sometimes actors wouldn't have their lunches with the crew and things like that but Colin always had his lunch with us so I knew he was down to earth from the beginning."
It's safe to say that a lot has changed in Farrell's career since starring in Ballykissangel but it seems his demeanour and genuineness has remained.
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