Colin Farrell's son James, who has Angelman syndrome, appears in the trailer for the upcoming HBO documentary The Slightest Touch, which shows the actor cradling his son as they laugh together.
The 50-year-old actor, known for his role in The Penguin, has two sons: 23-year-old James, whom he shares with American model Kim Bordenave, and 17-year-old Henry Tadeusz Farrell, whose mother is Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curuś.
James was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome, a rare neurological disease, when he was a toddler. According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition affects approximately one in 12,000 to 15,000 people, disrupting the nervous system and causing severe physical and intellectual challenges such as delayed speech and seizures.
The Dublin Marathon Challenge
The Slightest Touch follows Farrell as he trains for the Dublin marathon, but he will not be running alone. His friend Emma Fogarty is turning 40, and her birthday wish is that Farrell pushes her in her wheelchair for a kilometre for every decade of her life that she has lived with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a condition that causes blistering skin and deterioration with age.
At birth, Fogarty was not expected to live a week. "Somehow, I've got to 40," she says in the trailer. Farrell once joked they should run a marathon together, and years later Fogarty is holding him to his word.
"The reason I'm here is the same reason you're here – it's for Emma," Farrell says in the trailer. He adds, "It's just those three words: it's for Emma, it's for Emma, it's for Emma."
Premiere and Reviews
The film premiered at the London Film Festival and has received glowing reviews. One review on Letterboxd called it "incredibly honest and informative and really puts things into perspective," while another described it as "deeply moving and life-affirming."
The Slightest Touch will be available to stream on HBO Max from Thursday, November 26.
