Colin Farrell explains ‘tricky' decision to put son James, 21, with Angelman syndrome in long-term care facility

Yahoo

22-04-2025

Colin Farrell is elaborating on a big parenting decision he made.
The 'Penguin' star, 48, revealed in a new interview with Candis magazine that he and his ex, model Kim Bordenave, put their 21-year-old son James, who suffers from Angelman syndrome, in a long-term care facility.
'It's tricky – some parents will say, 'I want to take care of my child myself', and I respect that,' said Farrell, per The Independent.
'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?' he added. '[He'd be] a ward of the state. And he goes where? We'd have no say in it.'
Farrell said the former couple are trying 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,' Farrell shared of his son. 'By going out in the van every day and going to the supermarket and doing the shopping together. By going to the beach, museums, movies, all that stuff. Just a connected life.'
Angelman syndrome is a rare neurogenetic disorder that causes delayed development and problems with movement, balance and speech, according to the Mayo Clinic.
James was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome when he was just 2 1/2 years old.
Farrell and Bordenave, 53, filed for a conservatorship of their son in 2021 before his 18th birthday.
Last year, the actor launched the Colin Farrell Foundation, which aims to provide support for adult children with intellectual disabilities, in James' honor.
'Once your child turns 21, they're kind of on their own,' Farrell told People in Aug. 2024. 'All the safeguards that are put in place, special ed classes, that all goes away, so you're left with a young adult who should be an integrated part of our modern society and more often than not is left behind.'
The 'Banshees of Inisherin' star also recalled learning of James' diagnosis and how he reacted to the news from the doctors.
'I remember the first two questions I asked were, 'What's the life expectancy and how much pain is involved?'' Farrell explained. 'And the doctor said, 'Life expectancy, as far as we can tell, is the same for you and for me, and pain, no.''
Farrell has another son, 14-year-old Henry Tadeusz Farrell, with Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curuś.