Colin Farrell’s rarely seen son James, 23, makes appearance in documentary trailer amid rare neurological disease battle

Colin Farrell’s son James made a rare appearance in the trailer for the upcoming documentary, The Slightest Touch.The award-winning actor, 50, was seen sharing a heartwarming moment with his eldest son, amid the 23-year-old’s battle with the rare neurological disease, Angelman syndrome.In a teaser trailer released by HBO on Wednesday, Farrell sits down for an interview and seemingly pauses at one point to hug his son and holds him tenderly in his arms for the duration. James was diagnosed with the rare neurogenetic disorder when he was a toddler.Angelman syndrome can affect the nervous system and lead to delayed development, trouble with speech, challenges with balance and movement, intellectual disability and seizures, per the Mayo Clinic.  Colin Farrell was seen sharing a heartwarming moment with his rarely seen son James in the trailer for the upcoming documentary, The Slightest Touch The award-winning actor, 50, hugs his son and holds him tenderly in his arms, amid the 23-year-old’s battle with the rare neurological disease, Angelman syndrome In a teaser trailer released by HBO on Wednesday, Farrell sits down for an interview and seemingly pauses at one point to show affection towards his sonFarrell shares James with ex-girlfriend Kim Bordenave. The Irish actor is also father to 17-year-old son Henry from his past relationship with former Ondine co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curus. The documentary, The Slightest Touch, follows Farrell’s longtime friend Emma Fogarty and her journey living with epidermolysis bullosa ever since she was diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder as a child. According to the Mayo Clinic, epidermolysis bullosa is a rare condition that causes fragile, blistering skin, which may appear in response to minor injury, even from heat, both inside and outside of the body.Her parents were told that she would not survive longer than a week, but Emma defied the odds, and for her 40th birthday, she and Farrell take on the Dublin Marathon together. The teaser trailer showed clips of the two friends sharing the story of their friendship and spending quality time together. Several scenes also show Farrell training hard for the marathon and then helping Emma complete the race by pushing her wheelchair for the final four kilometers, with one kilometer symbolizing each decade she has lived with epidermolysis bullosa.The Slightest Touch premieres on HBO on November 25.   The Slightest Touch follows Farrell’s longtime friend Emma Fogarty and her journey living with epidermolysis bullosa ever since she was diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder as a child Her parents were told that she would not survive longer than a week, but Emma defied the odds, and for her 40th birthday, she and Farrell take on the Dublin Marathon together The teaser trailer showed clips of the two friends sharing the story of their friendship and spending quality time together Several scenes also show Farrell training hard for the marathon and then helping Emma complete the race by pushing her wheelchair for the final four kilometers, with one kilometer symbolizing each decade she has lived with epidermolysis bullosa In the documentary, Farrell talks about his friendship with Emma and his admiration for her, and his son James also makes a short albeit sweet cameo at one point The Slightest Touch premieres on HBO on November 25Two years ago, Farrell opened up about his son James’s diagnosis and his decision to start the Colin Farrell Foundation to provide support for adult children with an intellectual disability. ‘I want the world to be kind to James,’ Farrell told People in August 2024 while discussing his son, who is nonverbal and has a live-in caretaker. ‘I want the world to treat him with kindness and respect.”Once your child turns 21, they’re kind of on their own,’ Farrell continued about his decision to open up about his family life with James. ‘All the safeguards that are put in place, special ed classes, that all goes away, so you’re left with a young adult who should be an integrated part of our modern society and more often than not is left behind.’ About his foundation showing support via advocacy, education and innovative programs, the actor said at the time: ‘This is the first time I’ve spoken about it, and obviously the only reason I’m speaking is I can’t ask James if he wants to do this.’He continued: ‘I mean, I can. I speak to James as if he’s 20 and has perfect fluency with the English language and age-appropriate cognitive ability.  Two years ago, Farrell opened up about his son James’s diagnosis and his decision to start the Colin Farrell Foundation to provide support for adult children with an intellectual disability Farrell shares James (pictured together in December 2009) with ex-girlfriend Kim Bordenave. The Irish actor is also father to 17-year-old son Henry from his past relationship with former Ondine co-star Alicja Bachleda-Curus’But I can’t discern a particular answer from him as to whether he’s comfortable with all this or not, so I have to make a call based on knowing James’s spirit and what kind of young man he is and the goodness that he has in his heart.’He said that James ‘has worked so hard all his life, so hard.’ He noted the ‘repetition, repetition, balance, his jerky gait. When he started feeding himself for the first time, his face looks like a Jackson Pollock by the end of it. But he gets it in, he feeds himself beautifully. ‘I’m proud of him every day, because I just think he’s magic.’