Colin Farrell thankful for son's early diagnosis

Colin Farrell is thankful for the early diagnosis of his 4-year-old son's neuro-genetic disorder, PEOPLE reports.

"He's nothing but a gift," Farrell, 31, said on the Irish interview show Tubridy Tonight. "As far as I'm concerned he's exactly the way he should be."

Though he was on TV to promote his latest movie, In Bruges, Farrell addressed the topic of James, whose Angelman Syndrome was revealed publicly last year.

"Angelman's is a neuro-genetic disorder," he explained. "The 15th chromosome is dormant. It affects their fine motor skills. They say that one in 30,000 children is affected by it."

"I've been very lucky that it was early because he started having seizures at about eight or nine months," said Farrell. Initially doctors thought James had cerebral palsy but soon he was diagnosed correctly and "we got early intervention," said the Irish actor.