When Barry Keoghan is moved by a film, he cherishes the opportunity to connect with its director, believing that such gestures of appreciation are essential within the industry. "We owe it to each other to share the love and acknowledge the profound impact our colleagues' work has had on us," he told Variety. "Each of us has worked tirelessly to reach our current positions."
Beyond fostering a sense of community, Keoghan's outreach has paid dividends in his career, leading to three visits to Cannes – two of which were for the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor's participation in Sam Mendes' epic "The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event." Although he refrains from divulging too much about the biopics, he emphasizes they will be "iconic" and "a part of history." (Unfortunately, he admits, trying to make them sound "romantic" for our conversation, he isn't "dressed as Ringo.")
Over a decade ago, when Keoghan was largely unknown outside Ireland, his charming confidence led him to secure a role in Matt Reeves' "The Batman" after sending an unsolicited self-made recording. He reached out to Bart Layton, expressing admiration for his 2012 documentary "The Imposter." "I recall reaching out – I think on Twitter – and saying, 'Can I send you my audition tape?'" he recalls. Layton would later cast Keoghan in lead roles in his films "American Animals" and "Crime 101" (the two are also collaborating on a Billy the Kid biopic).
Keoghan has also reached out to Barry Jenkins, Lynne Ramsay, and Andrea Arnold. Arnold would bring Keoghan to Cannes in 2024 with her coming-of-age tale "Bird" (his second visit after Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Killing of a Sacred Deer"). Now, Keoghan returns for a third time with Kantemir Balagov's "Butterfly Jam," all thanks to a note he sent to the Russian director after watching his 2019 breakout film "Beanpole." "He absolutely nailed it with that film, so I reached out to say 'incredible job,' and we just kept in touch," he says.
Opening the Directors' Fortnight competition, "Butterfly Jam" is set within the Circassian community in Newark and stars Keoghan alongside Riley Keough ("just one of the best," he says) as siblings running a struggling diner alongside newcomer Talha Akdogan playing his teenage son (he describes the youngster as "incredibly talented – his rawness is unmatched").
Keoghan is reluctant to share more details – "your curiosity and love for cinema should drive you to see it!" – but does acknowledge a curious link connecting all his Cannes films to date – "Sacred Deer," "Bird," and now "Butterfly Jam." "They're all animals!" "Butterfly Jam" also marks the first completed project for Keoghan's production company – and another animal – Wolfcub ("Keoghan" means "Wolf cub" in Gaelic, he asserts, before letting out a loud howl down the phone).
Also in the works for the fledgling banner is an as-yet-unannounced Netflix series, plus the feature "Lemonade," an Irish indie from director Kim Bartley that he shot in January between Beatles shoots. The film – set amid Ireland's care system – has remarkable, and coincidental, parallels with Keoghan's own upbringing as a foster kid from one of Dublin's most disadvantaged neighborhoods. "There are moments in 'Lemonade' when I was like, this is too to-the-bone," he says. "Honestly, it makes me emotional just talking about it, but it's beautiful."
It wasn't long after those days as a youngster moving between multiple homes (he would eventually live with his grandma) that Keoghan remembers saying "I want to become an actor." But at the time, it felt like an impossible dream. "It was so far out of reach for me, especially where I came from," he says.
As he notes, "I just didn't know enough about it – there were no avenues. There were college courses and stuff like that, but I hadn't finished school. I was kicked out of school. So that was that." Out of "love," people would pressure him to come up with a Plan B. "But I always kept in my mind that, no, I want to do this. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but I remember just trying… even to articulate that."
Keoghan discovered exactly what it was at age 16 on the set of his first acting job, the gritty Irish crime thriller "Between the Canals" (a role he got after answering a casting notice on a shop window and calling the director every few weeks).
"I remember on 'Between the Canals,' when the camera went up, I was like, this is it. It was such a feeling that stands alone from anything else," he says. "It wasn't like 'I want to chase this high.' It was just, this is where it is, this is where I belong, this is where I'm accepted."
After his debut, Keoghan embarked on a brief yet impactful journey as one of the inaugural students at the prestigious Bow Street Academy, Dublin's renowned acting institution, before being cast in his breakout role in the cult Irish TV series "Love/Hate." Portraying a baby-faced assassin whose life tragically ends at the season's close, he hinted at the magnetic screen presence that would later become his signature. The trail continued with Yann Demange's acclaimed thriller "’71," where he played a young IRA initiate (also gunned down), followed by Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" as a civilian boat hand a couple of years later. He was off and running.
However, Keoghan's meteoric rise, fueled by his scene-stealing turn in "The Banshees of Inisherin" and a memorable spot of nude dancing in "Saltburn," has brought its unfortunate trappings of fame: intense public scrutiny over his private life (which peaked during and after his year-long relationship with singer Sabrina Carpenter). In 2024, he spoke to Louis Theroux about the abuse he received about his own son, born in 2022 with a former partner, and online accusations that he was an "absent father." "People love to use my son as ammunition," he said. More recently, on SiriusXM's "The Morning Mash Up," he discussed the "hate" he received over his appearance, which had reached a point where it made him "really go inside myself, not want to attend places, not want to go outside."
But now, Keoghan tells Variety he wants to "step into a new chapter of my life where I let my work speak for me ... I want to close the book on it, put my head up, have a smile and enjoy the moment." He laughs at himself. "I feel like I just read that line off something. I didn’t, but I did look out the window as I said it and smiled." Clearly, playing a member of The Beatles can be good for you (thankfully, he's some way from wrapping up — "we're still going strong... it's four movies at the end of the day!").
But this new chapter comes with solid gravitas behind it. Now an Academy-endorsed rising Cannes veteran, mixing buzzy arthouse with red-hot studio releases, Keoghan has reached a status where he can effectively chart his own course, whether that be telling deeply personal stories like "Lemonade" through his own company or diving into giant studio-backed features about the most famous band in history.
"I pick projects quite specifically," he says. While he says he loved being a part of "Peaky Blinders" and "loved making the movie — it was incredible," he won't reveal why he chose not to return for the upcoming sequel series on Netflix (Jamie Bell has replaced him as Duke Shelby). But it's clear that this specificity played a part. "I carefully, cautiously pick because I just want to enjoy, and I want to heal, I want to tell, I want to find, I want to explore. I want to discover all of those things while I'm making a movie with people who are like-minded."
This pool of like-minded people will continue to grow as Keoghan slides into their DMs to send them notes of praise about their films (although he does admit he's now in a place where he can get others to do it for him). But when he says filmmakers should "share the love" because of the work put in to get to where they are, the truth is that few have worked harder than Keoghan given his humble beginnings.
