Colin Farrell was deeply concerned about acting in The Banshees of Inisherin

Colin Farrell admits that he was initially very concerned about taking on the role of Padraic in The Banshees of Inisherin.

The movie, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, tells the story of two friends on a remote Irish island. Out of nowhere, Colm (Brendan Gleeson) decides that he no longer wants to be friends with Padraic (Farrell).

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Banshees received critical acclaim and numerous Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Farrell received a nod in the Best Actor category, eventually losing out to Brendan Fraser, but he says he was scared about playing a character who holds very little charisma.

"My first take was concern," Farrell said alongside McDonagh on stage at a promotional event.

"I had read an earlier incarnation seven years before. Martin had sent me an email and he sent Brendan an email saying 'this is something I wrote, something I'm thinking of doing, tell me what you think.'

"I thought it was great, he says it was shit. He obviously holds himself to a higher standard than I do.

"I was ready to do this film and years later this version came around and the first couple of pages remained the same, the same concept. One friend decides to tell another friend that he doesn't like him anymore, that their friendship was dead.

"The rest of the script was incredibly different. The first one was more plot-driven, there were action scenes and shoot outs. And to be honest with you, my character was a bit...cooler. He wasn't as deeply lonely. He wasn't as simple as lovely Padraic.

"When I read it I was like 'oh my God'. I limped away from reading it. I was ultimately very moved by it as, to me, it was a story about loneliness and regret. Community, of course.

"But, yeah, concerned that I was going to be as dull as dishwater for an hour and a half."

The Banshees of Inisherin was Farrell's third collaboration with McDonagh after In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths.