Colin Farrell has been opening up about putting his disabled son, James, into a long term care facility and friends are praising the actor for his unwavering devotion as well as his passion for raising awareness about the his son’s medical condition.
“Colin did not make this choice lightly, it was very deeply considered by both him and James’ mother, Kim [Bordenave],” an insider exclusively tells Closer. “They just want to do everything right for James and they realize he needs more than they can give.”
The source continues, “Once they decided that James needed to be in a special home so that he could have a community of his own, outside of his mom and dad and brother, the challenge was finding a suitable place. That was another huge hurdle and Colin has now decided he wants to raise money to help other families access this level of care, because it is very expensive.”
Colin, 48, “feels the best thing he can do for his son, besides love and cherish him, is set him up for the future so that he’s not left totally alone when his parents eventually pass away,” according to the insider. “That haunts Colin and he knows it must haunt other parents too. In honor of his son he wants to help as many of those other parents as he can.”
James, 21, was born with Angelman syndrome, although he was first misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy. Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that “causes delayed development, problems with speech and balance, mental disability, and, sometimes, seizures,” according to the Mayo Clinic. The site also states that those diagnosed with the disorder “smile and laugh often,” and they “tend to be happy and easy to excite.” While the condition can’t be cured, treatment for Angelman syndrome “focuses on managing medical, sleep and developmental issues.”
Colin Farrell
In August 2024, Colin launched The Colin Farrell Foundation, which aimed to provide help and support for adult children with intellectual needs.
“This is the first time I’ve spoken about it, and obviously the only reason I’m speaking is I can’t ask James if he wants to do this,” the In Bruges actor told People at the time. “I mean, I can. I speak to James as if he’s 20 and has perfect fluency with the English language and age-appropriate cognitive ability. But I can’t discern a particular answer from him as to whether he’s comfortable with all this or not, so I have to make a call based on knowing James’s spirit and what kind of young man he is and the goodness that he has in his heart.”
Ultimately, Colin wants “the world to be kind to James.”
The Batman star has also previously spoken about his and Kim’s decision to move James into 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,” Colin told Candis Magazine in April, per Men’s Journal. “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? And he goes where? We’d have no say in it.”
He added, “[We hope 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.”