Who Does Colin Farrell Play in Taylor Swift’s ‘Patient Zero’ Video?
Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson star alongside Taylor Swift in the “Patient Zero” video, but Swift has not said who Farrell plays. She released a 13-second teaser on Sept. 24, which debuted on “CBS Mornings” before she shared it on her social media accounts.
No lyrics are heard in the preview, and the coverage so far does not report a name for Farrell’s character. Swift captioned the post “This Sunday. @vmas,” pointing to the full premiere at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27, two days after the song drops.
“Patient Zero” is one of four new tracks on “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore,” an extended version of her 12th studio album.
Farrell Shows Up Last, Dressed in Black
Farrell does not appear until the closing stretch of the teaser. Variety describes him stepping out of a car and meeting Swift and Johnson, with all three dressed in black. Billboard says the car is a luxury sedan and the scene takes place at night, with the final images showing the three together in a lounge.
The credits at the end list Swift as the star, followed by Farrell and Johnson. The audio is an instrumental with an Irish folk feel. Nothing in the footage shows whether Farrell’s character is a partner, relative, friend, or stranger to the other two.
A Grave in the Snow, and Whose It Might Be
Most of the teaser before Farrell’s entrance centers on Swift and Johnson. They mirror each other across a bathroom sink, dive into water, and stand together at a grave. E! reports that the gravestone appears to carry the words “daughter” and “gone too soon.”
Geo.tv describes someone placing a black rose on it while two figures stand with their backs to the camera in a snow-covered graveyard. Swift has not said who is buried there. One fan on X tied the scene to the grave in the “Look What You Made Me Do” video, which was marked with her Nils Sjöberg pseudonym.
A close-up of Swift crying follows, with her engagement ring from Travis Kelce in view.
Fans Read the Emmys Sketch as a Casting Clue
Swift may have signaled the casting days earlier. She appeared in a “Law & Order: SVU” sketch at the Emmys last week, playing Det. Olivia Benson and dropping a string of cryptic clues. Those clues included the words Saccharide, Aries, from the vineyard and North or South.
Fans read “North or South” as a nod to Johnson, since her first name matches the two states. E! reports that one fan tied “Saccharide” to Farrell’s role as John Sugar in the Apple TV drama “Sugar.” Swift has not confirmed either reading. Neither one says anything about the character Farrell plays in the video.
Swift Directed It, Lubezki Shot It
Variety reports that Swift directed the video herself. TheWrap reports that Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shot it, and calls his involvement perhaps the most surprising part of the teaser.
Lubezki’s earlier work includes “Gravity” and “The Revenant.” The premiere is also an awards moment for Swift. She is set to receive the inaugural Artist-Director Award at the VMAs that night. She is also nominated in nine categories, including video of the year, for “The Fate of Ophelia.”
