NEWSColin Farrell Explains Heartbreaking Reason Why He’s Putting Disabled Son, 21, in Longterm Care: 'It's Tricky'
Colin Farrell's son James was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome before the age of 3.
It's come time for Colin Farrell to make a tough decision for his disabled son, James, 21.
In a new interview, the Irish actor revealed his plans to place his eldest child into a long-term care facility as he wants to ensure James will be taken care of if Colin and his ex Kim Bordenave were ever to die.
Colin Farrell is planning to place his disabled son, James, into a long-term care facility.
Colin and Kim's son was upsettingly misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy as a toddler, but doctors later discovered he had actually been suffering from Angelman syndrome — a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that causes developmental delays, intellectual disability, seizures, excitable behavior and frequent laughter, according to the Mayo Clinic.
While speaking with a news publication recently, Colin, 48, confirmed he and Kim, 53, made the mutual decision to settle James into a permanent care facility.
The actor wants to ensure James will be OK if his parents ever died before him.
"It’s tricky, some parents will say: 'I want to take care of my child myself.' And I respect that," The Penguin actor explained. "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 pointed out: "Then he’s a ward of the state and he goes where? We’d have no say in it."
Colin Farrell shares his son James, 21, with ex Kim Bordenave.
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Best case scenario, Colin and the model 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," The Batman actor shared.
Colin — who also shares his son, Henry, 15, with ex Alicja Bachleda-Curus — previously got candid about his son James' health while speaking to People in August 2024.
"[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," he recalled. "'It was a common misdiagnosis, because it shared a lot of the same characteristics. And that was a downer for sure."
Colin Farrell is also a dad to his son Henry, 15.
By the age of 2.5, a pediatric neurologist suggested James be tested for Angelman syndrome.
"I remember the first two questions I asked were, 'What’s the life expectancy and how much pain is involved?'" Colin admitted. "And the doctor said, 'Life expectancy, as far as we can tell, is the same for you and for me, and pain, no.'"
As for why this doctor thought James was dealing with something other than cerebral palsy, Colin noted: "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 [of waving his hands]."
Candis Magazine spoke to Colin about his son.
