Whatever happened to fabulous Colin Farrell?

With his rippling biceps and toned pecs, Colin Farrell used to look as though he would burst out of his clothes.

These days, he is in danger of disappearing inside them.

The 32-year-old Irish actor appeared worryingly gaunt while out in Spain on the weekend.

His hollow cheeks and sunken chest were in stark contrast to the form he built up to play Alexander the Great in 2004.

The actor bore an uncanny resemblance to fellow Irish celebrity, snooker player Alex "Hurricane" Higgins

Farrell's weight loss may stem from the demands of the film which he is shooting in Alicante.

He stars in Triage with Spanish actress Paz Vega and British film veteran Christopher Lee.

In the film, co-produced by the Irish Film Board, he portrays a war photographer who loses his best friend during a harrowing consignment in war-torn Bosnia during the early 1990s.

Or perhaps his new look is the result of an extreme detox after giving up his formerly hellraising lifestyle.

While living in Los Angeles the actor became addicted to hard drugs and alcohol and starred in a string of flop movies.

He also fathered a son called James, now four.

After a spell in rehab, Farrell decided to have a career break and move back to Dublin to spend more time with his son, who has a rare genetic disorder called Angelman syndrome.

He recently revealed how fatherhood had changed him immensely - and said he had mended his ways.

In the interview in February he said: "I think it only changes you if you want it to change you, it didn't change me for about two years until I curbed a certain way I was living."