At just twenty-two, Barry Keoghan is rapidly becoming one of Ireland’s brightest new stars. Immortalised on Love/Hate as cat-killing Wayne, the young actor is now being courted by Hollywood and has landed roles in a string of high-profile films. The actor tells Roe McDermott about his new movie ’71; working with Brendan Gleeson and Michael Fassbender; his tough upbringing; and why acting has taught him more than school ever did.

Warm, quick-witted and endearingly upbeat, Barry Keoghan tells me that acting is an energy-sapping job – but with such an enthusiasm that you know he loves every exhausting minute of it.
“It’s tiring!” he exclaims. “I mean, I love it, I love putting on another person’s shoes, and putting my own issues aside and focusing on someone else’s inner life – but it can be draining! Especially if you’re re-touching difficult emotions. Even if it’s a happy scene, you have to find that energy and stay in that energy and that takes it out of you as well.”
Keoghan found himself going to difficult places for his role in Yann Demange’s ’71, a hard-hitting and emotionally gripping drama about a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a terrifying riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Keoghan plays local boy Sean, who’s torn between loyalty to his town, his family, and his own conscience. The Dublin native explains how he got into the mindset of his troubled character.
“On set, I’d have Martin McCann beside me who grew up around there and the director Yann who had done a huge amount of research on The Troubles. He was basically telling me before every scene how important these times were. But my character wouldn’t have known a lot about The Troubles, he just knew what was going on immediately around him, and what he thought the right thing to do was. My character lives just up the road from where the action is happening, and he has a war going on in his head, trying to figure out what the right thing to do is. So I wanted him to be a bit confused. You have to play the character, not the issue.”
Much like his character, overcoming adversity and trusting his gut is something Keoghan is used to. The ambitious Love/Hate actor reveals that his childhood was particularly tough, and he spent several years in foster care.
“It’s not the ideal way to grow up, but it has made me who I am. I lived with my auntie and my grandma since I was ten, and they looked after me. So it was a part of my life, but not all of it. I was never going to let it hold me back.”
He’s actually written a script called Quick Judgement, which touches on his experiences.
“It’s about saying no matter what background people come from, you shouldn’t judge them, because they could have an underlying talent or skill, or could just be really decent people. It’s still in the works, and I’ve loved writing it. I love writing the backgrounds for my characters, so my writing comes from my acting. I want to keep doing both.”
For someone so young, Keoghan is remarkably determined – but then, he’s been waiting to prove himself for years. At eighteen, he studied at The Factory; the acting school whose graduates include Peter Coonan, Jack Reynor and Brian Gleeson. It was here that Barry learned about craft and honed his abilities. Free to express himself and to develop his skills, The Factory captured his imagination and encouraged his talents in a way school never did.
“In school, I wasn’t the most intelligent person!” he laughs. “I did plays, but when I started misbehaving, they took all that away from me. I didn’t finish school, so people probably didn’t take me seriously. But then I got a part in a film Life’s A Breeze. It was a tiny part, but I got to go to Sweden to film it, and I think once people saw that I was getting these opportunities and I was serious about it, they started taking me seriously too. But I think it’s a brave thing to say you want to be an actor here, people think you’re dreaming.”
And if you do succeed, there are always people willing to criticise. Despite the plethora of critically acclaimed films that have been made in Ireland over the past few years, John Michael McDonagh recently went out of his way to distance himself from the Irish film industry.
“I’m not a fan of Irish movies,” said the Calvary director. “I don’t find them to be that technically accomplished and I don’t find them that intelligent. So I’m trying to get away from the description of the movie as an Irish film in a way.”
Keoghan not only vehemently disagrees, but he himself distances himself from actors and filmmakers who focus too much on box-office success and fame.
“Irish independent films are getting really good, people are doing really interesting stuff. And that’s what counts. I don’t feel like I need to be in huge films right away. I want to take my time, and pick projects that are different and interesting. I’d like to do independent films, that’s where the interesting filmmaking is happening and that’s what I want to be involved in.”
Keoghan sings the praises of actors who espouse the same values as him, and says that many of his co-stars from ’71 and Love/Hate have become his close friends.
“I’ve worked with Killian Scott on Love/Hate and ’71 and a new film Traders – we’re sick of each other!” he jokes. “No, Killian and Martin McCann are my brothers, literally. They’re such good people, so is Charlie Murphy. I’ve been so lucky.”
Keoghan has also befriended A-list legends, as he’s starring in Adam Smith’s upcoming crime drama Trespass Against Us alongside Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson. He claims that being around his older co-stars is far more valuable and enriching an education than he ever received in school.
“They’re such interesting people, and I learn so much from them – not even about acting, about everything. Michael and Brendan will just be on set talking about Sigmund Freud and I’ll be like ‘Who’s that?’ And they’ll tell me about it and encourage me to look things up. I’m just learning from them all the time – and then I’ll watch them do their scenes, and learn so much from that too. I’m much more interested in art now, everything. I just feel more open to things.”
Constantly curious and determined to learn more, Keoghan expresses a desire to go travelling, to work for charities, and to learn more about the world. Unlike many actors his age, he’s refreshingly unconcerned with the trappings of fame or having a public profile – even though the next year will see him appear in a number of high-profile films. The young actor has landed roles in the romantic comedy Standby; the Rachel Griffiths-starring drama Mammal; and the thriller Norfolk, opposite Inglorious Basterds star Denis Menochet – to name but a few.
But in spite of his rapid trajectory into stardom, Keoghan recognises the power an actor can harness by remaining enigmatic.
“Killian Scott once told me that the more people see you, the less interested they are in you. And that made so much sense. You look at Daniel Day Lewis and he only does films every few years – but when you do see him, your eyes are glued to him. And he’s so different in everything. So I don’t feel like I have to rush or take every job or become famous – I want to have a great life as well as a great career.”
’71 is in cinemas now.