Actor Colin Farrell will be honoured with the Golden Icon Award at the 2025 Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) in recognition of his career and acclaimed performance in Ballad of a Small Player, the organisers said in a statement on Monday.
The Dublin-born star will attend the festival in person for the first time to present the film alongside Swiss director and Academy Award winner Edward Berger.
Farrell’s breakthrough in acting came with roles in Minority Report and Miami Vice, followed by In Bruges, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Banshees of Inisherin, and The Batman.
The Banshees of Inisherin earned him a Golden Globe in 2023, the Best Actor Award at Venice, and an Oscar nomination.
Farrell has collaborated with some of the world’s most celebrated filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, Sofia Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Woody Allen, Terry Gilliam, Michael Mann, Oliver Stone, and Tim Burton.
Festival director Christian Jungen called Ferrell “one of the most passionate and charismatic character actors in auteur cinema”, adding that his turn as a roguish gambler in Berger’s Ballad of a Small Player could see him in Oscar contention again.
“He carries the film from beginning to end and takes us on an emotional roller coaster that makes us laugh, cry, and marvel,” Jungen said in a statement.
Based on Lawrence Osborne’s 2014 novel, the Netflix-backed Ballad of a Small Player is set in Macau’s casinos, where British gambler Lord Doyle (Farrell) attempts to outrun his past and spiralling debts. Pursued by relentless debt collector Cynthia Blythe (Tilda Swinton), he meets the enigmatic Dao-Ming, who may hold the key to his salvation.
Ballad of a Small Player is Berger’s third film to screen at ZFF, following All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave.
Farrell will receive the Golden Icon Award during the gala premiere of Ballad of a Small Player on September 27 and will also host a ZFF Masters session on September 28.
Expressing his excitement, Farrell said, “It’ll be my first time visiting the beautiful city of Zurich and I’m beyond excited to walk its streets, drink its coffee and move amongst its people. It’s both generous and humbling to have my years of making film recognised by such a storied festival, one that champions film from all corners of the globe.”