Colin Farrell opens up about unlikely friendship with Elizabeth Taylor

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Colin Farrell was one of a few non-family members to attend Elizabeth Taylor's private funeral.

Colin Farrell will always have a place in his heart for Elizabeth Taylor.

As one of the few non-family members to attend Taylor's private funeral last week, the actor reveals how the two struck up an unlikely, yet powerful friendship in the actress' final years.

"How did we become friends? You know, the old story of boy meets girl, and boy pesters girl with too many phone calls at inappropriate hours of the night," Farrell, 34, tells "Access Hollywood."

"I was just lucky enough to become her friend in the last year and a half," he adds.� "I adore her ... still."

ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S COLORFUL LIFE IN PHOTOS

And it seems the feeling was mutual - just last month the "Cleopatra" star, who passed away from congestive heart failure at the age of 79, made sure to sing the praises of her favorite Irish actor during an interview in the March issue of Harper's Bazaar.

"I love Johnny Depp, and I love Colin Farrell," said Taylor, a two-time Oscar winner. "They're both brilliant, nuanced actors with great range."

But the pair's relationship was always deeper than professional admiration. Farrell says he was "sad and honored" when asked to recite a special poem, Gerard Manley Hopkins' "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo," at Taylor's funeral. �

"Elizabeth chose it. It was a tricky poem as well," Farrell laughs. "Even in passing she had me under the thumb, sweating bricks."

"I just miss her; I just miss her; I just miss her," he adds.

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