Colin Farrell was desperate to work with Tim Burton on the live-action 'Dumbo' movie.

Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell

The 42-year-old actor has joined forces with the acclaimed filmmaker - whose previous credits include 'Beetlejuice', 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'Sleepy Hollow' - for the upcoming Disney movie, and Colin has admitted he loved the experience of working with Tim.

Asked how he reacted to being offered the role of Holt Farrier in the film, Colin told Collider: "Honestly, 'Please, can I do it?' Genuinely. Because I've just been such a fan of Tim's work for the longest time.

"I think 'Edward Scissorhands' is probably the first thing of his I saw. It's still one of my favourite films of all time, probably.

"So yeah, just the idea of something as sweet and fantastical and almost otherworldly while being grounded in some recognisable world that we can relate to under the directorship of him is kind of a dream."

In fact, Colin described starring in the live-action 'Dumbo' movie as a "dream gig".

He shared: "I've always been looking for something of that ilk. This was ... I genuinely, when I heard he was doing it, I was like 'Oh my God, what a dream gig to do.'

"That was before reading the script. Then I read the script and it's so sweet. Tim is really good at figuring out the balancing act between honouring the sweetness of the original story or the intent or the allegorical element of what a baby flying elephant represents with real-world emotional concerns of families and friendships and damages of war without getting into it too much."