“You can’t go“: Colin Farrell reveals why Tom Cruise was unhappy with him on the sets of Minority Report

Working with Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise is a dream project for many, and Colin Farrell got his chance in 2002 when he collaborated with them for the science-fiction action film, Minority Report. However, the Daredevil star recently appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on October 28, 2025, where he revealed that while working on Minority Report, he ended up upsetting his co-star Tom Cruise. In the film, he starred as Danny Witwer, ‘’an agent from the Department of Justice.’’

Colin Farrell revealed on the show that during the filming of Minority Report, he came to the set hungover because he had been partying the night before for his birthday. Due to this, he couldn’t say his lines properly, and it took him almost 46 tries to get one scene right, which left his co-star, Tom Cruise, disappointed. 

Farrell said, 

"I had one of the worst days I’ve ever had on a film set. It was my birthday on May 31, and we were shooting. And I begged production — who did I think I was? — of a $120 million film if they [could] not have me working on my birthday. So, of course, my pickup was 6 a.m. on May 31, and I got up to all sorts of nonsense the night before. And I remember getting into bed, and as soon as I turned off the light the phone rang, and it was the driver [who] said, ‘It'’s 10 past 6.’ And I went, ‘Oh, s---.'"

Despite knowing he had a shoot early the very next morning, he went to the party anyway. At that time, Colin Farrell was struggling with alcohol problems, and it was too late for him to realize that he was not in a state to go on a set. The assistant director, David H. Venghaus Jr., told him ''you can’t go to the set like this.'' but Farrell jokingly said on the show that he asked him for six beers and a pack of cigarettes to help him feel better.

The Banshees of Inisherin actor joked about this embarrassing incident and said, 

"And I went, ‘Just get me six Pacifico cervezas and a packet of 20 [Marlboro] Red. Now, listen, it’s not cool because two years later I went to rehab, right?"

Colin Farrell’s unprepared and hungover state on set made Tom Cruise upset

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Colin admitted that his careless behavior on set didn’t sit well with Tom. He said,

‘’I had a couple of beers and I went to the set. But it was terrible. I will never forget the line that I had, but I couldn’t get it out. It was: ‘I’m sure you’ve all grasped the fundamental paradox of pre-crime methodology.’ That was the line that started the scene. I remember one of them coming up and saying, ‘Do you want to go and take a breath of fresh air?’ And I remember thinking: ‘If I go out and take a breath of fresh air, then I’ll be under more pressure when I come back in.'”

He added, 

“It took 46 takes. Tom wasn’t very happy with me. Tom was not happy with me.”

For him, it was one of the worst days on the sets. However, Minority Report back then was a major hit and grossed $358 million at the box office (worldwide).