Eamon Farrell, left, and Colin Farrell, who stars in "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" with Margot Robbie.

With his latest movie, Colin Farrell is paying heartfelt tribute to his late dad.

In “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” (in theaters Sept. 19), the Oscar nominee plays a man named David who embarks on a magical adventure with a relative stranger named Sarah (Margot Robbie), as they travel through mysterious doors and are transported back to core memories of their lives.

In one such memory, David encounters a younger version of his father (Hamish Linklater), pacing in a hospital waiting room as he anxiously awaits news about his infant son, who was born with a heart condition. Farrell is reminded of his own father, Eamon Farrell, an Irish footballer-turned-restaurateur with four kids, including the actor. He died in April at 83 after a long illness.

“My dad used to worry about the four of us a lot more than we would have realized,” Farrell says. “That worry and concern was an expression of his love, and also the inevitable helplessness you feel as a parent in the face of your children's potential struggles. I remember my dad saying that he used to stand over the cot when we were babies and he'd watch us, just to make sure we were still breathing.

"I remember that being a moment where I thought, ‘Jesus, give the man credit,’ because there was distance through the years,” Farrell adds. “David's dad is a worrier and my dad was more of a worrier than he would have presented, for sure.”

Farrell, 49, himself is the father of two sons: James, 22, who has Angelman syndrome, a neurogenetic disorder, and Henry, 15, whom he shares with two previous partners. Robbie, 35, meanwhile, welcomed a baby boy last fall with her husband, producer Tom Ackerley.

The actors were drawn to the way that Seth Reiss' script grappled with family, loneliness and loss, but always with a light touch. In one scene, David and Sarah describe their versions of their happiest, most “contented day.”

For Farrell, “a good day is getting up late and checking in with my boys,” says “The Banshees of Inisherin” star. “And then going for a little run, catching a movie, going for a walk at night and then a nice bit of dinner. But that might even be at home via Postmates.”

Robbie's dream is comparably attainable: “My perfect day is cocktails by the pool with my girlfriends," she says. "I love it.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colin Farrell shares heartfelt memories of his late dad: 'Give the man credit'

Reporting by Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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