‘Long term care’: Colin Farrell reveals heartbreaking decision for disabled son
Colin Farrell has revealed the devastating reason he’s planning on putting his son, who has a rare genetic disorder, into a long-term care facility.
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Colin Farrell has revealed the heartbreaking reason he’s planning on putting his disabled son into a long-term care facility.
The Banshees Of Inisherin and Penguin actor is a doting father to James, 21, who has Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes intellectual and developmental delay.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Angelman syndrome causes delayed development, problems with speech and balance, mental disability, and, sometimes, seizures”.
James was diagnosed at just four years old, The Sun reports, and now that he’s in his 20s, his father is looking to get him put into long-term care.
James Padraig Farrell, Farrell and his ex Kim Bordenave’s son, was born on September 12, 2003. In October 2007, the actor revealed to the world that his son had the syndrome.
Speaking to Candis Magazine for their May 2025 issue, Farrell revealed that he and his ex have made a decision, sharing that he and Bordenave plan to have James settled in a care facility.
“It’s tricky, some parents will say: ‘I want to take care of my child myself’,” Farrell said.
“And I respect that. But my horror would be … What if I have a heart attack tomorrow, and, God forbid, James’ mother, Kim, has a car crash and she’s taken too – and then James is on his own?
“Then he’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it.”
He then revealed that he and Bordenave are hoping to “find somewhere we like where he can go now, while we’re still alive and healthy, that we can go and visit, and we can take him out sometimes”.
“We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected,” Farrell continued.
“He needs a bigger life than we can afford him, by having a sense of community that he feels connected to.
“By going out in the van every day and going to the supermarket and doing the shopping together. By going to the beach, museums, movies, all that stuff. Just a connected life.”
Last summer, Farrell opened up candidly about his son’s condition.
Speaking to People, Farrell said he wanted the world to treat his son with “kindness and respect”.
“I want the world to be kind to James,” Farrell said.
“Once your child turns 21, they’re kind of on their own. All the safeguards that are put in place, special ed classes, that all goes away, so you’re left with a young adult who should be an integrated part of our modern society and more often than not is left behind.”
Around the same time of his interview with the magazine, Farrell announced the launch of the Colin Farrell Foundation.
The foundation is “committed to transforming the lives of individuals and families living with intellectual disability through education, awareness, advocacy, and innovative programs.”
This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as ‘Long term care’: Colin Farrell reveals heartbreaking decision for disabled son
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