Ranking Colin Farrell's 10 Best Movie Performances

10. Phone Booth - Stu Shepard

In the early ‘00s, Farrell proved a good luck charm for mercurial director Joel Schumacher. Their second collaboration, in particular, played to the actor’s strengths as a fresh, young performer with the swagger and presence required to carry a film almost single handedly.

The enjoyable if instantly dated Phone Booth casts Farrell as conniving publicist Stu Shepard, an amoral philanderer about to answer for his misdeeds. After using a public phone, the device rings, and he decides to answer. On the other line is a sniper (Keifer Sutherland) with his sights trained on Stu, promising to kill the man if he doesn’t admit his sins to his wife and the woman with whom he’s carrying on an affair.

Farrell is ideally suited for the role at this point in his career. The brashness and the arrogant swagger come naturally, but given the time, he’s able to find the humanity in Stu and make him a character capable of change, deserving of a second chance.

It’s a challenging part, one that demands intense focus and measured performance, and he delivers well. The movie is smart enough not to stick around and the conceit feels even more flawed now than it did in 2022, but as a vehicle for the young performer, it’s ideal.