"Total Recall" star and Dubliner Colin Farrell
The 36-year-old actor admits he had a lot of work to do to get in the right shape for his role in the remake but didn't enjoy having to watch what he ate and making regular trips to the gym.

He said: "It took a lot of work over three or four months to get into condition because I hadn't done an action movie for a while.

"When 'Total Recall' came up I thought, 'Cool, I can go and do an action film again.' But, oh man, it was boring.

"I went to the gym, I hit the treadmill, I lifted weights, I ate good food, drank protein shakes and got a good night's sleep most nights. But, boring as it was, I really enjoyed it."

Colin plays a role originally taken by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1990 movie but he didn't seek advice from the veteran star in how to tackle the part.

He told Britain's Hello! magazine: "I never reached out to him while making this movie, although I loved the original when I was a kid.

"I'd hope he would enjoy this one if he saw it, but I'm sure he's got better things to do than concern himself with my interpretation of a part he played back in 1990."