Barry Keoghan


Barry Keoghan is an Irish actor. He has appeared in the films Dunkirk, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, for which he won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor; and Trespass Against Us. He also played the "heartless cat killer" Wayne in the RTÉ drama Love/Hate.
Keoghan is an ambassador for Dior. In 2020, he was listed at number 27 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Early life

Keoghan grew up in Summerhill, Dublin. Alongside his brother, he spent seven years in foster care, in 13 different foster homes. His mother died of a heroin overdose when he was 12 years old, and he was then raised by his maternal grandmother and aunt.

Career

As a child, Keoghan appeared in school plays, but was banned for "messing about". He started his acting career in 2011. He answered an advertisement for Between the Canals after seeing a casting notice in a local shop window, and portrayed Aido in a small role in the film, which was released in 2011. He then studied acting at The Factory, a local Dublin school. The same year, at the age of 18, he appeared in Fair City.
In 2013, Keoghan appeared as the "infamous cat killer" Wayne on Love/Hate. The role earned Keoghan recognition in Ireland, and he went on to feature in '71 in 2014 and Mammal and Trespass Against Us in 2016.
Keoghan appeared in two films in 2017. He featured as George Mills in Dunkirk and starred as Martin Lang in The Killing of a Sacred Deer alongside Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman. He won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Killing of a Sacred Deer. The following year, he appeared in Black '47 as Hobson, an English soldier stationed in Ireland during the Great Famine. He also starred in American Animals the same year. He portrayed Spencer Reinhart in the film, based on a real-life robbery of rare books from a university library. In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter described Keoghan as "the next big thing" for his film work in the previous three years, and in 2019 he was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.
He features in the 2019 mini-series Chernobyl. He starred in an episode of Living With Lucy in September 2019. That same month, Calm With Horses premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In July 2018, Keoghan was cast as lead character Yorick Brown in the pilot of Y, but exited the main series production in February 2020.
Keoghan is attached to two upcoming films. In August 2019, Marvel Studios revealed Keoghan will be playing Druig in The Eternals, set for release in February 2021. He will also appear in The Green Knight.

Personal life

Keoghan is an amateur boxer. He lives with his girlfriend Shona Guerin in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011Fair CityDave Donoghue3 episodes
2013Love/HateWayne6 episodes
2016RebellionCormac McDevitt4 episodes
2019ChernobylPavel2 episodes
2019Living With LucyHimself

Awards and nominations