Colin Farrell reveals the heart-wrenching question he asked doctor after his son James, 20, was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome… see more

Colin Farrell recalled the moment he found out about his son James’ Angelman syndrome diagnosis, and the first heart-wrenching question he asked the doctor.

The Phone Booth actor, 48, discussed his first-born son’s, 20, condition in a new interview with People, revealing that he initially didn’t notice any symptoms.

But when James wasn’t ‘hitting benchmarks’ he was first misdiagnosed as having cerebral palsy. It was only when he was about two and a half years old, that a pediatric neurologist suggested he be tested for Angelman syndrome.

Angelman syndrome is a rare neuro-genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system, and causes severe physical and intellectual disability.

Recalling the moment he received the diagnosis, Farrell shared: ‘I remember the first two questions I asked were, “What’s the life expectancy and how much pain is involved?”‘

‘And the doctor said, “Life expectancy, as far as we can tell, is the same for you and for me, and pain, no.”‘

The Irish actor — who shares James with ex Kim Bordenave, 52 — said that James was ‘a very silent baby.’

‘I just thought I’d hit the lottery, and he was chill — and he’s anything but,’ he added.

Farrell — who also shares son Henry Tadeusz, 15, with Polish actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus, 41 — said that had James been his second son, he would have recognized something was amiss sooner.

He explained: ‘If James had been my second child and not my first, I would’ve known sooner, because when Henry was born and I heard him cooing, I was like, “A baby’s supposed to coo?”‘