(Top) Colin Farrell beside the special Alexander wax model at Madame Tussaud?s and (above) in a moment from Alexander

Oh, to see him walk

He took up the tough task of playing a legend who lived, conquered the world and died by the age of 33. Here?s Colin Farrell?s take on Alexander, the film and the man.

What was it like going to Greece to prepare for your role as Alexander?

I went up there and had an amazing five days and saw what was left of the Palace of Palo and where we shot some of the scenes. I saw where he was from and saw the hills that he probably hunted on and had a look around Philip?s (his father) tomb, which was weird. It was just strange having been through what we had all been through in the four months up to that. And the next thing, it was nine o?clock in the morning, I was sitting up, looking at Philip?s tomb in a museum. It was all lit up and that?s where Philip?s remains were. It was mad for me. I was a bit mental at the time.

Seeing his father?s tomb and going back and seeing the places where he actually lived, what was that like?

It just made it all very real. I knew it was a story based on real events ? a historical character that the world knows about. But still, you?re acting, telling a story and it?s a high degree of fiction.

I got to Thessaloniki and caught a taxi to the hotel, suitably called Macedonian Palace. And the manageress came over and said, ?I hope you don?t mind, we took a picture. Can we take another picture?? I looked at the people ?in a line all the way to the lift ? and said: ?Do they know?? She replied: ?That you?re playing Alexander? Oh yes, and we?re honoured to have you.? I was in such a state of melancholy that I got all teary. It was amazing to hear different people?s opinions on Alexander and what he represented.

What was the most difficult part for you to become Alexander?

The blonde hair. Yeah, the blonde hair. Physically, I just lifted weights and all that nonsense. Protein shakes, a lot of horse riding.

Was fighting on horseback a struggle?

Not a struggle. Just practice, practice and practice. It was a lot of fun. That?s mostly what I did because Alexander was such an avid cavalryman and obviously had a relationship with his horse, Bucephalas, who he rode for 13 years before Bucephalas died.

It?s quite a poignant story. I just rode a lot more than anything else.

Did you have any trouble? Was it hard for you to get up in front of them and try to beat them?

In boot camp? Yeah, yeah, because I?m someone that likes to think he?s one of the lads, you know? On the first day, Captain Dye (the production?s military adviser) made it very clear that all the guys were to call me ?Regent?, not Colin, and were to respect what I said. I was in a tent with Lieutenant Stokey and Captain Dye. All the other guys were 10 men to a tent. There was method to the madness ? it was kind of isolating me a bit. But the whole experience was engineered to give us a sense of what it would be like to be isolated and to just have each other ? only each other. To rely on and trust each other, and be away from friends and loved ones, even if only for three weeks. Every lad hit a brick wall at different stages.

Imagine that you?re at the beginning of the whole process. What scared you most about becoming Alexander?

Just the daunting prospect of what anyone would guess the daunting prospect would be to play this character and to go through what I was beginning to learn his life had been. Can you do it? Can you cut it? Are you man enough? Are you human enough to do it? I gave it my best shot and I fell in love with him through the telling of it.

What were your expectations, or did you have any, of Oliver Stone?

I expected it to be a glorious adventure down a road of madness that was wrapped in, again, idealism and a search for truth. And I got that, as I think everyone did. It was an experience and a half, you know?

Do you feel like you gained a lot?

I don?t know. At the end of the day, he?s a man who died 2,000-2,300 years ago and who I will never know, never meet. But I do like to think of him every now and then. I would give every penny, every single penny I have in the bank because money?s not that important anyway ? easy for me to say, having it ? I would give every single penny to see him walk five yards. Just to see the way he holds himself.

Do you think Alexander was a great man?

Yeah, there is no doubt that Alexander was a great man, an incredible human being. I don?t know if he was likeable. I don?t know how he moved. I don?t know what he was like. I don?t know what the timber of his voice was like. I don?t know what his eyes were like. But I know he was a great man. Look what he did in his life. I?m not saying he was a fair man, or an unfair man. But he was a great man.

Do you think he was also a megalomaniac?

Yes, megalomania did creep in. His pathos got the better of him. He did become something of a tyrant. But he was also a dreamer.