The inspiring career of Barry Keoghan: from foster home to Oscar nomination and BAFTA winner
Barry Keoghan‘s international film career took flight in 2017 when he performed in two critically lauded films: Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Now, to elevate his status even further, Keoghan was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role in Martin McDonagh’s 2022 film The Banshees of Inisherin.
As the excitement begins to build toward the big Hollywood event, Keoghan has now claimed victory at the 2023 BAFTA Awards for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. Accepting his award, Keoghan, clearly overcome with emotion, thanked his family, the cast, crew and “the kids from the area that I came from who are dreaming to be something” in what is a deeply poignant tribute.
Despite his recent acclaim, Keoghan’s career and life have not always been so simple. When he was 12 years old, Keoghan lost his mother to drug abuse, and she had suffered from addiction for much of her life. This tragedy must have had a tremendous effect on a child. Discussing his mother’s death, Keoghan said in 2018: “My mother, you know, the drugs hit the area and affected all the families; she was one of the ones that got caught.”
Detailing further, the actor added: “I was living with my nanny at that stage; I think I was 12. She was very young; she was 30, 31. I have great memories of her; I’m very proud of her”. For the next seven years, Keoghan and his brother Eric spent seven years in foster homes. Despite the trauma of losing his mother, Keoghan admitted that “the families were good to” him and his brother. “We went to a few of them,” he said. “They looked after us.”
However, there was always a sense of displacement from constantly moving around. “You don’t know what’s happening,” Keoghan admitted. “You get attached, and then boom, let’s move over here. I don’t have a hometown. They kept us [him and Eric] together, which was great. As a kid, you just don’t know what’s happening. Only when you’re older, when you’re an adult, can you get a bit of perspective.”
The young Irish actor had always been interested in drama and performed in the school plays at the O’Connell School in Dublin but was kicked out for “messing around”. His lack of opportunity in school drama led him to sneak into the local Cineworld cinema with his friends to catch a glimpse of the big screen greats, but in the end, he was kicked out of there too.
Eventually, his passion for cinema led Keoghan to The Factory acting school in Dublin, even though he recalls not having enough money to catch the bus there. Still, his desire to act set the path for his future career, and Keoghan landed his first role in the crime film Between the Canals, released in 2011. With a credit under his belt, Keoghan earned notoriety in Ireland in 2013 when he appeared in the drama series Love/Hate. More film credits followed over the next three years, including ’71, Mammal and Trespass Against Us.
But it was the year after Trespass Against Us was released that saw Keoghan arrived on the international scene big time with his significant roles in Christopher Nolan and Yorgos Lanthimos’ respective films. A year after their release, Keoghan was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.
Since then, he has given highly-lauded appearances in The Batman, The Green Knight, Chernobyl and, of course, The Banshees of Inisherin. Barry Keoghan ought to be an inspiration, not only to aspiring young actors but to us all. His humble beginnings show that anyone can make their dreams come true with enough determination, even if they don’t have enough bus fare.
