Colin Farrell Becomes a Swindler-Turned-Gambler in Netflix’s “The Ballad of a Small Player”

Colin Farrell, a professional Irish actor, is set to star in The Ballad of a Small Player, a new Netflix movie that will follow the story of a con artist who becomes a gambler in Macau. Farrell, who is famous for a number of high-profile roles, will now breathe life into the main character of Lawrence Osborne’s book.

Some of Farrell’s previous roles include Bullseye in Daredevil (2003), Alexander the Great in Alexander (2004) and Penguin in Batman (2022). The Irish star is set to once again become Penguin in Max’s original series The Penguin shortly after starring in the Oscar-nominated movie “The Banshees of Inisherin.”

The Ballad of a Small Player will be based on a book that was published in 2014. The original piece became an immediate hit. Rights were secured quickly, setting The Ballad of a Small Player up for a movie adaptation. However, production was stuck in limbo for years.

The new movie will be directed by Edward Berger who also directed Netflix’s Oscar-winning movie All Quiet on the Western Front (2022). In the meantime, Rowan Joffe will be responsible for adapting the original book into a screenplay. The Ballad of a Small Player will be produced by Good Chaos and Nine Hours.

What’s The Ballad of a Small Player About?

In The Ballad of a Small Player, Farrell will become Gerard Woodward, the son of a vacuum cleaner salesman from London who hides in Macau after defrauding a rich old woman.

Presenting himself as “Lord Doyle” in spite of his humble origins, Woodward proceeds to live a life of opulence, sleeping in a hotel and visiting the casino every night. He eventually meets Dao-Ming, a young call girl who helps him out when he needs it the most.

The story combines the natural with the supernatural to create what the official release called the “imaginative tale of two strangers and the unbelievable journey that connects them.”