Colin Farrell is the latest actor to join the Harry Potter spin-off, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He’ll co-star with Eddie Redmayne, who plays Newt Scamander, as a magical acquaintance of Newt’s.They meet in New York, where the movie is set. Fantastic Beasts is slated for release on November 18, 2016. Farrell has avoided the franchise boom until now, but while his career choices over the last few years have been interesting and mostly good, his attempts at mainstream success haven’t panned out (see also: Total Recall, Epic, Winter’s Tale). And it turns out that True Detective isn’t doing anyone but Rachel McAdams any favors, so franchise it is. Joining a franchise like Fantastic Beasts—based on an already established, beloved property, but breaking new ground for itself—is a solid move. Farrell was also once connected to Marvel, so he’s been looking for this kind of work, no doubt seeing it as a strategic career move. He hasn’t been able to sell a blockbuster by himself, might as well bask in the shared glory of a popular franchise. Now, let’s talk about how hot Colin Farrell is.
Lainey has long talked of Colin Farrell’s superior hotness, but I didn’t believe her until I encountered him last year at the Chicago International Film Festival. At one point he looked at me and I almost peed my pants—he is an actual tractor beam of hotness. Not many of them translate that well in person—photogenic and actually good looking are two different things—and very, very few are actually better in the flesh than they are on screen. Farrell is #2 on my list of Celebrities Who Somehow Are Better In Person, behind Sidney Poitier, who has more IT than anyone I’ve ever encountered, in any context. But Colin Farrell gets second place because he’s pee-your-pants hot.
