Colin Farrell Defends His Gay Bro, Marriage Equality in Op-Ed

In a moving op-ed piece for Ireland's Sunday World magazine, Irish actor Colin Farrell opens up about his openly gay brother, defending same-sex marriage in the country, ABC News reports.

In the piece, which was published Monday, Farrell, 38, defended his brother Eamon, writing:

I think I found out my brother wasn't grovelling in heterosexual mud like most boys our age when I was around 12. I remember feeling surprised. Intrigued. Curious. Not bi curious before you start getting ideas.

I was curious because it was different from anything I'd known or heard of and yet it didn't seem unnatural to me. I had no reference for the existence of homosexuality. I had seen, by that age, no gay couples together. I just knew my brother liked men and, I repeat, it didn't seem unnatural to me.

The "True Detective" star said his brother is "always proud...defiant and, of course, provocative."

Farrell adds:

Only ink on paper can truly prove that the Irish people are who we've held ourselves proudly to be - a people who, in the majority, are deeply feeling and have a natural and abiding lean towards inclusion and fairness, heart and hospitality.

This referendum is a chance for us to arise. To wake up to the conviction that true love from the heart of one being to another cares not for the colour, nor the creed, nor the gender of who it chooses to share that path with.

He also says that his brother "did not choose to be gay, no more than I chose to be straight. It's all a trick, a sleight of nature."

Farrell closed his piece by asking the citizens of Ireland to "sign up and register to vote next year so that each individual's voice can be heard...There are too many things that divide us as a people, let not this be another one."

You can read the full piece here.

The Huffington Post points out a photo of the actor is making its away around social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, showing Farrell holding up a sign for the "Yes Equality" campaign that supports same-sex marriage.

Farrell was the best man in his brother's wedding to husband Steven.

Ireland is scheduled to hold its referendum on gay marriage rights in May 2015.

This story is part of our special report: "Gay Marriage". Want to read more? Here's the full list.