Colin Farrell Shares Heartfelt Reason for Son’s Move to Long-Term Care: ‘We Want Him to Feel Safe, Supported, and Surrounded by Community'”
Colin Farrell has opened up about his deeply personal decision to place his 21-year-old son James into a long-term care facility — not out of distance, but out of love. The actor explained that making the choice while he and James’ mother are still alive gives them the ability to guide his care and ensure he’s part of a strong, supportive community.
James was originally misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy, before doctors correctly identified his condition as Angelman syndrome — a rare genetic disorder affecting the nervous system, which causes significant physical and intellectual disabilities.
Farrell’s moving story is a reminder of the strength and vulnerability behind parenting a child with complex needs — and the courage it takes to plan for their future.
Speaking to Candis Magazine, Colin, 48, revealed he and his ex Kim Bordenave have made a decision and plan to settle James into a long-term care facility.
He said: ‘It’s tricky, some parents will say: “I want to take care of my child myself.” 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?
Colin Farrell (pictured, in 2023) has revealed how his James was misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy before doctors eventually confirmed he was suffering from Angelman syndrome
The Phone Booth actor said medical advice was sought after James (pictured) missed developmental milestones and struggled to sit up or crawl as a baby
‘Then he’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it.’
He and Kim 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’.
Colin continued: ‘We want him to find somewhere where he can have a full and happy life, where he feels connected.’
The Phone Booth actor previously discussed his first-born son’s condition and said medical advice was sought after James missed developmental milestones and struggled to sit up or crawl as a baby.
Colin explained how many sufferers of the rare syndrome are often misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy due to both conditions having similar symptoms.
He told People: ‘[James] couldn’t sit up. He wasn’t crawling. I think he was a year and a half when we took him to get really checked out, and he was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.’
Cerebral palsy is the name for a set of conditions affecting movement and co-ordination stemming from a problem with the brain that takes place before, during or soon after birth.
Difficulty speaking, swallowing or seeing — along with learning difficulties — can also be symptoms.
Angelman syndrome is a rare neuro-genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system, and causes severe physical and intellectual disability (pictured: Colin and James)
Colin said: ‘It was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure.’
The Oscar nominee revealed that, when James was only about two and a half years old, a pediatric neurologist suggested he be tested for Angelman syndrome.
Recalling the moment he received the diagnosis, he shared: ‘I remember the first two questions I asked were, “What’s the life expectancy and how much pain is involved?”
‘And the doctor said, “Life expectancy, as far as we can tell, is the same for you and for me, and pain, no.”‘
A doctor had noticed an unusual symptom that prompted him to test for Angelman syndrome.
Colin explained: ‘One of the characteristics of Angelman syndrome is outbreaks of laughter. And the doctor saw that James was laughing a lot and doing this movement [he waves his hands],’ the father-of-two shared.
Angelman syndrome is also characterized by seizures, which Colin – who also shares son Henry Tadeusz, 15, with Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus, 41 – said is ‘one of the things that parents struggle with greatly‘.
He added: ‘Thankfully, James hasn’t had a breakthrough seizure now in about 10 or 11 years, but I’ve been in the back of ambulances, I’ve been in the hospital with him.
Colin – who shares James with ex Kim Bordenave – explained many sufferers of the syndrome are often misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy due to the conditions having similar symptoms
He said: ‘It was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure’ (pictured: James with his mother Kim)
The Oscar nominee (pictured, with younger son Henry in 2023) revealed that when James was only about two and a half years old, a pediatric neurologist suggested he be tested for Angelman syndrome
‘I’ve done Diastat [a sedative] up his rectum to get him out of a seizure that lasted longer than three minutes. Finding the right amount of medication that doesn’t have adverse effects — that’s all very tricky business.’
The actor is now launching the Colin Farrell Foundation to provide support, education, and advocacy for adults with intellectual disabilities.
‘This is the first time I’ve spoken about it, and obviously the only reason I’m speaking is I can’t ask James if he wants to do this,’ he said.
The proud dad stated that his eldest son ‘has worked so hard all his life, so hard’.
He said: ‘Repetition, repetition, balance, his jerky gait. When he started feeding himself for the first time, his face looks like a Jackson Pollock by the end of it. But he gets it in, he feeds himself beautifully. I’m proud of him every day, because I just think he’s magic.’
Colin also described watching his son take his first steps just before his fourth birthday.
Detailing the ‘profound’ moment to People, Colin said: ‘I knew they [James’s carers] were working on walking. And I stood over there, and she let him go, and he just came to [me].
‘It was so profound. It was magic.
‘I’ll never forget just the face of determination on him as he walked toward me. He took, like, six steps, and I burst into tears.’
James’s condition is severe enough that he is nonverbal and requires the help of a live-in caregiver to accomplish his day-to-day tasks.
When James was four, Colin went public with his Angelman Syndrome, saying his son had demonstrated ‘amazing courage’ in the face of his condition.
Shortly before James turned 18, Colin and Kim filed to obtain a conservatorship of him, noting he still needed help with tasks like getting dressed and making meals.
He later went on to reveal that he and James’s mother make sure to share in the smallest victories and enjoy the milestones whatever age they happen – including James’s first words aged six, being able to feed himself at 19, and getting his seizures under control.
Colin and James’s mother Kim, 52, (pictured, in 2003 in Los Angeles) dated from 2001 to 2003
He shares his younger son Henry with Ondine co-star, Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus (pictured, in 2010) whom he dated from from approximately late 2008 to early 2010
Colin has maintained a very private life and has not spoken about his son in great detail until recently, although he told InStyle he first decided to ‘talk publicly about the pride and joy I had in our son’ while attending the 2007 Special Olympics.
He said: ‘He has enriched my life, but I don’t want to minimize the trials that so many families go through; the fear, consternation, frustration, and pain… When you’re the parent of a child with special needs, it’s important to feel that you’re not alone.’
Discussing being a parent to a child with disabilities, the Hollywood star said that James was the main reason he was able to get sober.
Colin and James’s mother Kim dated from 2001 to 2003. He later had Henry with his Ondine co-star Alicja, whom he dated from from approximately late 2008 to early 2010.
