There are disturbing elements in Martin McDonagh’s precisely calibrated hit The Banshees of Inisherin. But along with all the nihilism, the unfortunate donkey and the splashes of gore, the performance given by Barry Keoghan is right up there for its unsettling impact. The Irish actor’s vulnerable and abused islander Dominic Kearney gives the film moments of warmth and much of its emotional punch.
So, even though the 30-year-old’s inclusion in the Oscar lineup for best supporting actor was unexpected last week – especially alongside big names such as Judd Hirsch and his Banshees co-star Brendan Gleeson – it was not a surprise for those who love the film.
Among Keoghan’s many new fans is Gary Lineker, who was quick to applaud the nomination on social media, while McDonagh, who wrote the part for the actor, already regards him as “one of the best actors of his generation in the world today, let alone in Ireland”.
At first glance, Keoghan’s background will make him an unlikely guest at the world’s glitziest showbiz ceremony this March. His is, after all, a sad personal story. He and his brother, Eric, were born in the disadvantaged Summerhill area of Dublin and, by his own doleful reckoning, their young mother soon fell victim to a big influx of drugs in the area. “It was a new thing and people didn’t know the effects,” he has said. “The drugs hit the area and it affected all the families, and she was one of them that got caught.”
Her sons were taken into care and passed through 13 foster homes. For a period, they also lived with their maternal grandmother, Patricia, and were with her when they learned of their mother’s death.
Keoghan left school at 16 with scant qualifications but a love of impersonations and film. And this is where his path to fame becomes clearer. Like many screen talents before him, he had extraordinary drive, fuelled no doubt by the adverse circumstances of his childhood. Weighing the loss of his mother, he has remembered deciding: “What more can I lose? The only way is forward.”
A small notice in a shop window, inviting hopeful actors to join a new film project, provided the first seed of ambition. Keoghan plagued the film’s director with audition requests and eventually, three years later, he got a part. A television career in Ireland followed, as well as a role in the 2018 heist film American Animals.
“Our story was set in a college in the States and so we were looking only at American actors for the role of Spencer, a sensitive artist,” recalled producer Katherine Butler. “Barry’s agent had sent over an audition tape he’d made at home in Ireland, and it was probably the worst-quality phone footage I have ever seen. It was dark and seemed to have been filmed in his nan’s bedroom. Yet there was something about the performance that meant we kept going back to it. He was just right.”
Butler could see Keoghan’s enjoyment of working on set and the spark of his emotional connection to his role: “It’s just magic. It’s about his eyes and the way he drills into the soul of his characters. It has been great watching his career in the last few years, and he’ll be around a long time, I’m sure.”
Keoghan also caught the eye of two influential directors, Christopher Nolan and Yorgos Lanthimos, who also set him on his path at this time. He won significant roles in the respective film-makers’ Dunkirk and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, becoming the go-to man when a cast requires an outsider who can communicate a subtle range of feelings.
