Colin Farrell defends use of N-word in new film 'Widows'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Actor Colin Farrell attends a press conference to promote the movie "Widows" during the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto (Fred Thornhill /The Canadian Press via AP)
Actor Colin Farrell defended the use of the N-word, which is heard during a scene involving him and Robert Duvall in their upcoming heist thriller, “Widows.”
Farrell explained the use of the racial epithets in the Steve McQueen-directed movie during a press conference Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival. Duvall’s character, Jack Mulligan, uses the N-word in a heated argument with Farrell’s character, Tom Mulligan, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“It's the weakness sometimes of what people who claim to be strong perceive as weakness, is where the seeds of change lives,” Farrell said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The majority of, if not all, the wrongdoings in the world take place in silent conversations. ... So this is a conversation that's been going on between him and his father,” he said, adding that his character’s head tilt was all “that the man can manage at that point.”
McQueen, who also directed “12 Years a Slave,” defended the use of the word as well.
“We're no fools. We have to project reality onscreen, because that's what art is about, and we have to transform it and reveal it,” McQueen said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Widows” is set to be released on Nov. 16. The movie is set in Chicago and tells the story of four women who are forced to repay the debts of their dead husbands. Farrell and Duvall star alongside Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo.