Before Colin Farrell was brooding through The Batman, philosophizing in The Lobster, or cussing his way through The Banshees of Inisherin, he was an 18-year-old Irish twink line-dancing to Randy Travis. Yes, darling — before Hollywood’s favorite bad boy became cinema’s favorite chaos demon, he was Ireland’s hottest country boy in a Stetson hat and a choker.
Let’s set the scene: Dublin, 1994. Line dancing had somehow crossed the Atlantic and taken hold of the Irish like a fever dream set to Garth Brooks. In a now-iconic RTÉ Cúrsaí segment dug up from the archives (thank you, internet gods), we meet a baby-faced Colin Farrell at Break for the Border — a pub name that sounds like it belongs in a gay bar lineup — where he’s seen boot-scootin’ his way through the country craze with an instructor named Skip Jenkins. (Honestly, the name alone feels suspiciously drag-ready.)
@colinfarrellfansite I still remember this dance 😂😂 #irishman #irishactor #variety #colinfarrelledit #colinfarrell #colinfarrellpenguin
Farrell wasn’t just a hobbyist — he was a paid performer with a troupe called Step In Line, driving around in a van full of dancers wearing CMT jackets.
On Conan O’Brien, he laughed about his past life, recalling, “I’d wear a choker, cut-off sleeves, and a Stetson hat… until I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror any longer.” But make no mistake: the man was earning £750 a week at 19 for shaking it — which, in gay math, makes him a visionary.
Buckle Up for Farrells Jockstrap Era
Also in 1994, Farrell appeared on another RTÉ show, 12-2-1, wearing nothing but confidence and a bright red jockstrap-thong hybrid that left little — and I mean very little — to the imagination. The camera pans, the lights hit, and there he is — serving 90s male model fantasy before TikTok thirst traps were even a thing. It’s the kind of footage that feels like it should be preserved in the queer archives next to Freddie Mercury’s crown and George Michael’s leather jacket.
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Of course, this was the 90s, when television producers somehow thought, “Yes, let’s put this teenage Irish Adonis in a jockstrap on public broadcast TV — for the culture.” And honestly? No notes.
Farrell’s Still Got the Goods
Fast forward three decades, and Colin hasn’t lost an ounce of that shameless charm. Recently spotted walking through L.A., he was wearing what can only be described as emergency-level short shorts — the kind that make the sun squint. Tanned, slightly sunburnt, shirt tied around his waist, phone in hand — just casually existing as a thirst trap in motion. Somewhere, Randy Travis’s “Forever and Ever, Amen” starts playing softly in the background.
It’s full-circle queer poetry, really. The same man who once danced for tips in a cowboy hat now struts through Hollywood as a certified Oscar nominee and walking fantasy. His career has spanned Greek epics, dark comedies, and superhero sagas — but nothing beats the legacy of that choker and jockstrap combo.
Colin Farrell didn’t just act his way into our hearts — he danced there.
So here’s to Ireland’s cheekiest export: the man who line-danced, modeled, acted, and survived multiple fashion crimes, all while remaining unapologetically hot. Somewhere out there, a gay cowboy is raising his hat to the ultimate patron saint of short shorts.
REFERENCE: RTE