Family comes first for Colin Farrell – and he’s got a leaked WikiLeaks email to prove it.

The Irish actor, who’ll debut on HBO in June with True Detective, was caught in the nicest way possible in the latest WikiLeaks dump of private Sony emails that rocked the movie studio last November. Colin, father of James, 12, and Henry, five, from two different relationships, nixed a co-starring role next year’s Grimsby with Borat star Sasha Baron Cohen because it would have required him to spend two months away from his LA-based sons.

An exec from Columbia Pictures, Doug Belgrad, was high on Farrell after he screen tested for the part last March. "Colin was by far the funniest. He was so committed," Belgrad wrote in an email. "Would suck if we don't get him. This is a hard part to cast and it matters a lot."

Farrell emailed Amy Pascal, the now ousted chief of Sony Pictures, expressing interest in the part, but his schedule and the timing proved to be off.

Farrell's manager Ilene Feldman wrote, "He is reading it on the plane to Ireland tonight. He is very concerned about the dates because he will not be seeing his kids for two months starting today, so the thought of literally having no time to spend with them after this film is weighing heavily on him."

Farrell had just started filming The Lobster with Rachel Weisz – that one will drop at the Cannes Film Fest next month – and he was also worried about shedding the weight he had to gain for the part. So he junked the seven-figure paycheck in favor of his boys.

Nice one, Colin. The Dubliner formerly known as the Lusty Leprechaun sure has come a long way!