Two years ago, it was reported that Irish actor Colin Farrell was one of the few non-family members invited to Elizabeth Taylor’s private funeral. And not only that, but that Farrell was asked to read a poem aloud—Gerard Manley Hopkin’s “The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo”—at the intimate memorial. The Colin Farrell cameo was surprising for anyone who had no clue that the thirtysomething Irish actor and the iconic beauty were friends—let alone the kind of pals who exchanged 2 a.m. phone calls. Today though, for the first time ever, Collin Farrell spoke at length about his sweet May-December relationship with Taylor, and the friendship’s unlikely origins.

While promotingSaving Mr. Bankson Ellenthis morning, Farrell was asked about his relationship with the actress, with whom he exchanged flowers after a fortuitous near-encounter at Cedars-Sinai hospital nearly four years ago. While there for the delivery of his youngest son, Henry, Farrell recalled bumping into Taylor’s manager and close friend Tim Mendelsohn, who was visiting Taylor after she had a stent put into her heart. “I got home a few days later with Henry,” Farrell remembered, “and I was thinking about Elizabeth and how she was doing and I called my publicist and I said I bumped into some people of Elizabeth Taylor’s, some friends of hers, could I send her some flowers?”

“And my publicist said that’s funny because I’m looking at an orchid from Elizabeth Taylor for you.”

The pair eventually met in person and began exchanging phone calls, especially late-night ones that fit nicely into their insomniac schedules. “She wasn’t much of a sleeper at night like I’m not, so at two o’clock in the morning I’d call her. . .and the nurse would answer the phone. I’d say, ‘Is she awake?’ I’d be on the phone and I’d hear, ‘Hello?’ And I’d go how’s it going and we’d talk for a half an hour an hour into the wee hours. Really cool.’”

Without any prompting from the host, the actor went on to define the relationship from his perspective—being careful to note that his feelings likely weren’t mutual. “It was kind of like the last, it feels like in my head, not hers, I’m projecting,” Farrell said, “But the last kind of romantic relationship I had.” Before the audience could misunderstand him, he quickly added that the romance “was never consummated.” Not that he didn’t want to make it happen. Straight-faced, the actor suggested that he wanted to join the icon’s notorious line-up of husbands, revealing, “I wanted to be number eight. . .but we ran out of road.”