Irish actor Barry Keoghan has opened up about his previous battles with addiction, even revealing that he attended a rehab clinic in England for help.
Speaking to Hollywood Authentic while on a recent trip back to his native Dublin, the Saltburn star spoke about his addiction struggles, following his success for the first time. This interview also saw Keoghan bring the publication on a tour of his old stomping ground in Dublin.
He also revealed that his trusted driver Niall, ensured that he sought professional help when he was at his lowest.
"Niall literally drove me and put me on a plane himself, came with me and brought me to the rehab in England", Keoghan revealed.
Despite losing his mother, two uncles and a cousin to drugs, Barry Keoghan said that curiosity can outweigh common sense when it comes to drug addiction.
"That should be enough to go, "OK, if I dabble here, I'm f***ed,"' he said. "But your curiosity is a powerful thing. Sometimes it's beneficial and sometimes it's detrimental. For me, it was detrimental".
The actor even admitted that he struggled to stop, even after his son Brando was born in 2022.
"You go to LA, you go to Hollywood, wherever the big scene is. There's an enormous amount of pressure, and a different lifestyle that is good and bad for you", he said. "You're around the scene. You just happen to be the one that ends up doing it".
The actor even showed the interviewer Greg Williams "scars here to literally prove it".
"They're a result of using.' But the star insists he is 'at peace now, and responsible for everything that I do", he added. "I'm accepting. I'm present. I'm content. I'm a father. I'm getting to just see that haze that was once there - it's just a bit sharper now and colourful".
While he did not detail the specifics of his addiction, Barry Keoghan did reveal that he has since visited the facility in sobriety.
"It was nice to see the staff again, and for them to see the change in me. They were quite emotional about it. I'm forever grateful", he said. "When I say that [his driver] Niall is the best, I mean it, because no one else put me on the plane, by the hand, literally got on the plane with me".
Barry Keoghan went on to reveal that he confides in fellow Banshees of Inisherin co star, Colin Farrell, who has "always been there" for him in times of trouble.
Keoghan said, "Even now, through the tough times and good times. And so has Cillian [Murphy - with whom he starred in Dunkirk]'".
On this journey, Barry Keoghan took Hollywood Authentic through the inner city of Dublin, including Parnell Street's Cineworld, a place where he regularly snuck into, and where he began to develop his love for film.
He said that growing up without a father, led him to loog to movie stars for guidance on how to conduct oneself as a man.
"I'd watch these movies at my nannie's at night-time like Cool Hand Luke and Marlon Brando movies", he said. 'That was my way of learning behaviour from men. Because I didn't have a father figure. I was looking at these men, and how they behaved. I was very fixated on how they just moved and had composure".
"I didn't have someone in the house showing me how to shave, or saying, "Don't punch someone in the balls".
He also showed the magazine where he slept in at his grandmother's house growing up.
The actor added that he would "always leave that window open, because I loved the noise of all the fighting outside, and all the windows going through, and the f***ing arguments you hear. That, for me, would be peaceful".
"I remember being kids here and hearing my mum scream through the letterbox, asking for us, while she's battling addiction, while she's looking for money to score. And we were just told to stay in bed. We weren't to go down and hug her".
Last week, Barry Keoghan spoke about the unexpectedly "generous" way in which David Beckham helped him out. More on this here.
