Theres a slim chance youve seen Barry Keoghans performance in The Banshees of Inisherin with dry eyes. Managing to break a heart in just under a minute, Keoghan paints his character Dominic with a vulnerability and rawness so pure that it rivals the backdrop of clear Irish waters and swaths of green cliffs.
His performance earned him an Oscars nomination for Best Supporting Actor, alongside co-star Brendan Gleeson. The critically acclaimed movie, which depicts a dissolving friendship between Gleesons and Colin Farrells characters in a picturesque but slow, coastal Ireland town, picked up nine Oscar nominations this week.
At age 30, this is Koeghans first Oscar nod. With movies like Dunkirk and the 2022 rendition of The Batman on his résumé, the actor has been wishing, fighting, and working for this moment since the start of his career. The breakout stars journey was far from traditional or simple. Its marked by perseverance, a quality he picked up in childhood and took with him as he rose to stardom.
Growing up with an absentee father and a mother struggling with a heroin addiction, Keoghan was placed in 13 different foster homes in Dublin until he finally ended up living with his grandmother at age 10. His mother passed away a few years later.
As a kid you dont know whats happening, Keoghan said on The Late Late Show back in 2018, speaking of how he would get attached to homes before having to move with his brother to a new one.
While living with his grandma, who he refers to as nanny, Keoghan began watching 20th century actors and acting in subtle ways: through impressions, prank calls, and trying out characters when entering stores, according to a profile in British GQ. Trying to make it as an actor wasnt necessarily considered an option where Keoghan was from, but after his mother died, he was ready to work for the impossible. What more can I lose? he told himself, per GQ. The only way is forward.
If you want something, just fight for it
Work forward is what Keoghan did. While in school, he answered an open call for Between the Canals, a 2011 film that ended up being his first. Director Mark OConnor told GQ that Keoghan rang him every few weeks until I eventually cast him.
Not being handed fame like other A-listers born into the Hollywood business or into well-off households gave Keoghan a fight for what-you-want mentality. If you want something, just fight for it, Keoghan once told Collider. Im not a believer in sitting and expecting and waiting for stuff to happen for me.
With that role under his belt, Keoghans ambition and hunger led to a few other castings until his break in the 2014 film 71, he told Backstage. Meanwhile, he was honing his acting craft at an acting school in Dublin known as The Factory. At one point, he tweeted at famed comic book writer Stan Lee: Please Make me a SuperHero :). He soon became one, picking up roles as a superhero in The Eternals and as a villain in The Batman.
He sent in an unsolicited audition for the latter as the Riddler, receiving an offer to play the Joker instead. A deleted scene featuring Keoghan as the Joker garnered 4 million viewslikely rewarding for the actor, who was initially intimidated by reprising the iconic character.
If I want something, Im going to show you my version, he told Collider. I cant guarantee Ill get the part or promise Ill get the part, but I can promise you that youre going to see something that youve never seen.
Manifesting Banshees
Keoghan has always been motivated more by growth than by fame. Its about challenging myself, breaking stigmas and stereotypes, and seeing how far I can push myself with what I play, he said to Deadline.
Unafraid to dream or work for the dream, he developed a wishlist of 35 to 40 directors he wants to work with. The Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh just so happened to be on it. Call it the power of manifestation: As Keoghan explained to Vanity Fair, he received an email from Martin about a part for him in the film.
Much like any fan, he then made McDonagh the background on his phone. Im a big believer in being spiritual and the laws of attractionand if you visualize it, he said. Its visualizing it to get the opportunities.
But he tampers that its not just about believing. You dont just put it out there and expect it. You put it out there, and you work hard for it, he told Collider.
Clearly theres something to that mentality, considering it has landed Keoghan at the Oscars in a couple months. And, given what we know about Keoghan, theres no doubt hell keep working for more.
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