Barry Keoghan opens up about substance struggles: “I do have an addiction, and I am an addict”
In a new interview, Saltburn star Barry Keoghan has admitted that he is “not in denial anymore” about his experience with addiction.
Keoghan had endured a difficult childhood; his mother died from a heroin addiction when he was 12 years old, causing Keoghan and his brother to spend time in and out of foster care.
During a new interview with Hollywood Authentic, the actor recounted dark periods from his youth: “I remember being kids here and hearing my mum scream through the letterbox, asking for us, while she’s battling addiction, while she’s looking for money to score,” he said. “And we were just told to stay in bed. We weren’t to go down and hug her.”
The pain didn’t just end with his mother. “My father passed away as a result of similar and I lost my mum to it. I’ve lost two uncles and a cousin to drugs. That should be enough to go, ‘OK, if I dabble here, I’m fucked.’ But your curiosity is a powerful thing,” he admitted.
Keoghan levelled with himself and the interviewer, making a powerful statement: “I’m not in denial anymore,” he said. “I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict. You know, when you accept that, you finally can move on, and learn to work with it.”
Keoghan became a father in 2022 but continued to dabble in the “big scene” in LA and Hollywood. He went on to describe the “enormous amount of pressure” that being consistently surrounded by that type of scene placed on his shoulders.
Gesturing to the marks on his arms that were the result of drug-taking, Keoghan described a new phase in his journey: “I’ve got scars here to literally prove it. They’re a result of using. I’m at peace now, and responsible for everything that I do. I’m accepting. I’m present. I’m content. I’m a father. I’m getting to just see that haze that was once there – it’s just a bit sharper now, and colourful.”
The pressure on Keoghan isn’t likely to lift soon, as the actor is set to play Ringo Starr in the upcoming Beatles biopics.
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