Farrell: Is he the new Tom Cruise?

The Hollywood film industry is notoriously fickle, yet for the last three years it has remained loyal to a 26-year-old Dubliner little known to anyone but film buffs and astute TV viewers. Colin Farrell played Danny Byrne in Ballykissangel in 1996 but garnered none of the heat surrounding that series' stars, Stephen Tompkinson and Dervla Kirwan. By 1999, he was still playing second fiddle - this time as the milkman in episode three of a TV series called David Copperfield which did great things for a lad named Daniel Radcliffe. But these days, it's Farrell who earns the sort of salary that would make Harry Potter blush.

"Upwards of $5 million" is the figure proffered by the LA publicist, which is as good as saying it's substantially more.

Such salaries are not generally the preserve of actors still able to saunter down Sunset Boulevard or Oxford Street (though not Temple Bar) without inciting a riot. Minority Report, in which Farrell plays nemesis to Tom Cruise, is about to change all that. It is perhaps no coincidence that the plot line - which sees Farrell literally snapping at the star's heels - is thoroughly metaphorical.

Cruise turned 40 yesterday and, while still viewed as one of Hollywood's biggest stars, is not putting bums on seats quite like he used to. Though Minority Report opened at number one in the United States, the film only beat a couple of Disney animated characters by a hair's breadth.

Hollywood is banking on Farrell planting millions of bottoms on seats, sooner rather than later. For once, its judgment appears beyond reproach. Farrell has classic leading man attributes. Tall, dark and handsome, he's also devilishly charismatic and precociously talented. But it is Farrell's attitude which puts him ahead.

"I've been the next best big thing for three years," he laughs, over Amstel and Camel Lites in a New York hotel room. "And if it all goes away tomorrow, I'll have some great stories to tell my future children and grandchildren."

A self-confessed, "low maintenance" character, Farrell is happiest "talking s***e" over beer and cigarettes. That he can do so effortlessly has become a calling card, though his meeting with Al Pacino, his co-star in the forthcoming The Recruit, did cause him consternation. "That was the most intimidated I've been: having dinner with Al Pacino. We'd all be on the same page there. F***, it's Michael Corleone!"

Fortunately, he had his mum to hold his hand, and won't blanch if you call him a mama's boy. He also admits to crying when he's on the way home after a film shoot and sees the green fields of Ireland: "I kiss the ground, too." He wears his Irishness like a badge. But mostly, he's laid-back and seems the opposite of the "career-hungry asshole" he plays in Minority Report.

Farrell might still be playing milkmen were it not for two Hollywood "godfathers" who have worked tirelessly on his behalf. When a scouting trip to London for his Tigerland lead proved fruitless, director Joel Schumacher was heading out of his hotel when his last, very tardy interviewee arrived direct from Heathrow Airport. Farrell was in the right place at the right time - and not for the last time. While on stage at the Donmar Warehouse, Farrell caught the eye of Kevin Spacey who knew a star when he spotted one. Soon, Farrell had a role alongside Spacey in Ordinary Decent Criminal and representation with CAA, the powerhouse Hollywood agency, .

His luck of the Irish continued. When Jim Carrey dropped out of Schumacher's Phone Booth, Farrell stepped in, following a Tiger-land screening for executives. When Edward Norton bailed on Hart's War, Farrell stepped up beside Bruce Willis, but not before a Tigerland screening for hesitant studio executives.