Colin Farrell (Photo Gallery)
One of the best things to come out of Ireland since Guinness ale, this fine-looking, dark-haired bad boy with intense screen presence certainly embraces his Irish roots–from his love of a good pint to his free-spirited ways. Farrell even fought some of his demons with a recent rehab stint. Good for you, Colin! But just don’t fight them off completely.
Potable Quotables: “I love the pints and I love good times and laughter and singing a song and being with people. There’s nothing like it. If I’m not going to enjoy this life, just give it to someone else.”
Coming Up: Farrell takes on another bad boy character: Det. James “Sonny” Crockett in the big-screen version of Miami Vice. 
Cillian Murphy (Photo Gallery)
With steely blue eyes, Cillian (pronounced just like the Irish beer, Killian) is a subtly sexy kind of Irishman. You can see that wild spark onscreen–especially when he terrorized poor Rachel McAdams in the airborne thriller Red Eye. But who woudn’t want to snuggle up to this actor in a cottage on some remote Irish cliff?
Potable Quotables: “I am a person who has always needed companionship,” he says. “I’m not very good at being alone. And I should know, I’ve tried it. As for the fame thing, I never intended this to happen and my life, really, hasn’t changed dramatically. But, yes, it does help to have a stable relationship in my life. And no matter what happens I would hope to hold on to the things in life that are most important to me.”
Coming Up: Murphy is set to star in the sci-fi thriller Sunshine with Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Photo Gallery)
With the requisite piercing eyes and bee-sting lips, this Irish lad just has danger written all over him. Did you see how easily he decides to dispatch Scarlett Johansson in Match Point? Surely he can be sweet and romantic, but Jonathan is the one you want by your side when a brawl breaks out at your local pub.
Potable Quotables: “I’d love to just make films in Ireland because I’d be at home. But I don’t like playing Irish characters because I want to play as many characters as I can and make a fool of myself until somebody finally goes, ‘That’s crap.’ Then I’ll go and play Irish fellas.”
Coming Up: Rhys Meyers is starring alongside Tom Cruise and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the upcoming actioner Mission: Impossible 3.
Stuart Townsend (Photo Gallery)
This gorgeous Celtic actor has a sweet schoolboy look and an abundance of lucky charm, even when he’s playing the bloodthirsty rock star Vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned or the immortal Dorian Gray in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Longtime companion Charlize Theron is no dummy; she knows exactly what she’s got with her lovely Irishman. Damn her.
Potable Quotables: “Acting is great. You spend your whole life trying to get it right.”
Coming Up: It’ll be fun to see Townsend playing it straight in the romantic comedy The Best Man, also starring Seth Green and Amy Smart.
Pierce Brosnan (Photo Gallery)
In a sea of young bucks, there’s nothing like a little Irish old school to keep it real. OK, the Scottish Sean Connery may have been the best James Bond, but striking Irish fella Brosnan definitely comes in a close second. Shaken, not stirred.
Potable Quotables: “I know most actors say otherwise, but I like sex scenes. Bond was supposed to be this great lover, but I always found the love scenes in those movies a little dull. It’s lovely to work out the fantasy of it all in celluloid and then go home to my wife.”
Coming Up: Brosnan is starring with Liam Neeson and Anjelica Huston in the Civil War drama Seraphim Falls.
