‘Saltburn’ Star Barry Keoghan Opens Up About Dependancy: “I’m Not in Denial Anymore”

Barry Keoghan is entering into the sunshine—and getting actual concerning the darkness that almost consumed him.

The 32-year-old actor, recognized for scene-stealing roles in The Banshees of Inisherin, Saltburn, The Batman, and Eternals, is now talking candidly about his wrestle with drug dependancy. In a uncooked new profile for Hollywood Genuine, Keoghan shared that his battle with substance abuse intensified simply as his Hollywood star started to rise within the early 2020s.

“I’m not in denial anymore,” Keoghan instructed the outlet. “I perceive that I do have an dependancy, and I’m an addict. You understand, whenever you settle for that, you lastly can transfer on and be taught to work with it.”

It’s a susceptible admission from an actor who’s largely saved his private life near the chest—particularly following a 2021 arrest for public intoxication in Dublin, the place he was launched with out costs and issued a advantageous.

Keoghan, who earned an Oscar nomination for The Banshees of Inisherin, additionally seemed again on a childhood marked by instability. After shedding his mom, Debbie, to drug dependancy at age 12, he and his brother bounced by means of foster care earlier than settling with their grandmother. He added that his father, two uncles, and a cousin additionally died as a consequence of drug-related causes, and his brother just lately sought therapy as properly.

“That ought to be sufficient to go, ‘Okay, if I dabble right here, I’m f—ed,’” Keoghan stated. “However your curiosity is a strong factor.”

That curiosity—and the high-octane surroundings of fame—solely grew extra harmful after his breakout in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. The Hollywood highlight introduced success, positive, but in addition what Keoghan described as “an infinite quantity of stress.”

Even the beginning of his son Brando in 2022 wasn’t an prompt repair. Keoghan admitted he was nonetheless struggling post-fatherhood, and in 2023, he and Brando’s mom, Alyson Kierans, cut up. The actor later made headlines once more for a quick romance with singer Sabrina Carpenter in 2024—adopted by a messy public breakup that despatched Keoghan offline amid dishonest rumors. He pushed again laborious earlier than vanishing from social media, calling out the “absolute lies, hatred, [and] disgusting commentary” he’d obtained on Instagram.

The profile didn’t shrink back from bodily reminders of Keoghan’s previous both. He revealed a big scar tracing his proper arm—one in all a number of he attributes to his time battling dependancy.

Whereas Keoghan didn’t go into specifics about his restoration or any formal therapy, he made it clear he’s in a special headspace now.

“I’m at peace,” he stated. “I’ve apologized—primarily to myself greater than the rest for all of the ache I’ve put individuals and myself by means of.

“[I’m] liable for every part I do,” he added. “I‘m accepting. I’m current. I’m a father. I’m getting to simply see that haze that was as soon as there—it’s a bit sharper now, and colourful.”