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Colin Farrell has reflected on the ‘most dangerous’ stunt of his career, admitting that it wouldn’t be done now.
The 49-year-old has been in the spotlight for decades, thanks to roles in the Banshees of Inisherin, In Bruges, Phone Booth, The Batman and the TV spin-off, The Penguin, to name just a few.
However, promoting his latest project, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, the Oscar nominee delved into some of his toughest moments in front of a camera.
Speaking to Collider alongside co-star Margot Robbie, the pair were asked about the hardest shoots of their respective careers.
‘The hardest sequence I’ve ever been a part of was there was a battle scene shot for Alexander in the desert of Morocco way back when,’ he replied, referring to the 2004 epic historical drama on the Greek conqueror’s rise to power, directed by Oliver Stone.
‘We were four weeks doing the Battle of Gaugamela, and so it was four weeks coming in every day.’
When Robbie questioned whether ‘real elephants’ were used in the scene, he clarified: ‘Yeah. Actually, that was the most dangerous thing. Let’s go with the most dangerous thing I’ve ever been a part of.
‘They would say “action,” and there were eight head of elephant, 200 head of horse, and 800 background, 800 foreground, 800 x, 800 Thai men who would move. Eight elephants, 200 horses, and 800 men would go on “action”.’
Farrell added that one guy even ‘broke his leg on horseback’.
‘Nobody died. It was a miracle. They wouldn’t do it now.’
As well as a pretty vast ensemble of animals, Alexander featured a starry cast including Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Jared Leto, and Val Kilmer.
But despite the calibre of actors on board and Farrell taking the lead as Alexander the Great, the film was deemed a commercial failure, grossing $167million (£124m) against its $155m (£115m) budget and receiving mixed to negative reviews.
Still, the revered actor spoke highly of his time on the project, most notably at the 2004 Golden Globes as he reflected on working with filmmaker Stone.
Hailing him as an ‘amazing director and an incredible man’, Farrell added: ‘Making this film was very much a journey of discovery for everyone involved, including and maybe particularly for Oliver. There was no doubt that he was our leader, and Oliver led by example, like Alexander; he pushed the crew and the cast extremely hard, and he didn’t push anyone harder than me, except maybe for himself.
‘So, in that respect, he is an incredible leader; he’s a director that demands that you give as much as he gives.’
As for Stone himself, he has long acknowledged that the film was no small feat.
Describing the shoot as ‘an exhausting process,’ Stone said at the time to Total Film: ‘We’re shooting on three continents—in Morocco, Thailand and London.
‘It’s the biggest challenge of my life. I’m quite nervous. I hope to survive and be smiling by February, but it’s tough.’
Farrell can currently be seen in cinemas in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, in which he plays David while Barbie actress Robbie, 35, plays Sarah, two single strangers who get to relive key moments from their pasts.
The romantic fantasy flick is still fresh on the scene, but it’s yet to gain real momentum with critics, currently sitting with a low 35% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
While some describe it as ‘unapologetically gorgeous’ and ‘poignant’, others aren’t so convinced, admitting they found Farrell and Robbie a ‘mismatched pair’ lacking chemistry.
Unfortunately, such feelings translated into ticket sales, leading to A Big Bold Beautiful Journey flopping on its opening weekend, making just $8m (£5.9m) globally.
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