The Louis Theroux Podcast - S3 EP7: Barry Keoghan on his childhood, avoiding online hate and dancing in 'Saltburn'

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

For the final episode of the series, Louis is joined in the studio by Irish actor Barry Keoghan. Barry talks about his turbulent childhood in inner city Dublin, avoiding online hate and his infamous dancing scene in Saltburn.  Warnings: Strong language, as well as adult themes including substance abuse. Listener discretion is advised. Visit spotify.com/resources for information and resources.      Links/Attachments:   Dunkirk (2017)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-eMt3SrfFU   The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQFdGfwChtw&pp=ygUkdGhlIGtpbGxpbmcgb2YgYSBzYWNyZWQgZGVlciB0cmFpbGVy   A.O. Scott, ‘Review: ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ Depicts Familiar Torment’, New York Times  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/movies/the-killing-of-a-sacred-deer-review-colin-farrell-nicole-kidman.html    The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRu3zLOJN2c&pp=ygUaVGhlIEJhbnNoZWVzIG9mIEluaXNoZXJpbiA%3D   Saltburn (2023)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lALMdJf6UUE&pp=ygURc2FsdGJ1cm4gdHJhaWxlciA%3D   The Basketball Diaries (1995)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zc7T0vUpj0&pp=ygUaYmFza2V0YmFsbCBkaWFyaWVzIHRyYWlsZXI%3D     Bird (2024, released 8th November)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=130ko6kcQ-g     On The Waterfront (1954)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOdYAXOfLMc&pp=ygUZb24gdGhlIHdhdGVyZnJvbnQgdHJhaWxlcg%3D%3D     The Wrestler (2008)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61-GFxjTyV0&pp=ygUUdGhlIHdyZXN0bGVyIHRyYWlsZXI%3D     Love/Hate (2010)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfheHH6iDrc&pp=ygURbG92ZS9oYXRlIHRyYWlsZXI%3D     ‘Please Please Please’, Sabrina Carpenter (2024)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl_thbk40A0&pp=ygUmcGxlYXNlIHBsZWFzZSBwbGVhc2Ugc2FicmluYSBjYXJwZW50ZXI%3D    Credits:  Producer: Millie Chu   Assistant Producer: Sally McLennan  Production Manager: Francesca Bassett   Music: Miguel D’Oliveira   Audio Mixer: Tom Guest  Video Mixer: Scott Edwards   Executive Producer: Arron Fellows       A Mindhouse Production for Spotify   www.mindhouse.co.uk   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1212. Are we rolling? Hello, Louis Theroux here. Welcome to my podcast. It's called the Louis Theroux podcast because I'm Louis Theroux. Today's guest is Irish actor and man of the moment, Barry Kioogan. Yes, that's how you pronounce his name. I asked him. Barry had a tumultuous upbringing. His mother struggled with addiction to heroin and she died when he was 12 years old, leading to him and his brother Eric spending seven years in foster care. There were 13 foster homes in total.

Barry landed on most people's radar in 2017 for his roles in Christopher Nolan's war epic, Dunkirk, and Jorgis Lanthimos's remarkable The Killing of a Sacred Deer which I watched in preparation for the chat. It's a creepy horror film and well worth checking out. Since then he's taken on more high profile roles including a supporting role in Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inner Sharon and Emerald Fennell's psychological drama, yes you know you saw it, Saltburn, in which you ran around naked and danced through a stately home. It was kind of the movie moment of the year in some ways. We talk about that. He's had a highly publicised relationship with the singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter. The internet reached a frenzied level when he appeared in the music video for her song, Please Please Please. Am I going to sing it? It's in my

head at the moment. It's an earworm. What can I say? We recorded this interview in September 2024. Barry turned up with a velvet pouch full of carved stones with mysterious properties. I'll let him explain it. Barry's also an amateur boxer, and there's a little bonus for Spotify viewers. We go off mic, it's less fun as an auditory experience, but we kind of get into it. I unleash some moves which I think Barry was quite impressed by. Warnings, strong language, adult themes including substance abuse and a couple of film spoilers. All that after this. I don't know where to sit. Sorry, Louis. Can I sit like... Sit anywhere you want me.

Yeah, like is this fine? Yeah, I think so. I felt like I'm in between the screen and it's like, I feel... My ADHD as well will keep me moving around. Dude, I like this. We can even stand up. We can move around. You could box and stuff, you know what I mean? Do you... do you... you like a bit of boxing?

I do. I like a bit of boxing. Stand up. No, what are we doing? I'll wait a second. So do you like to watch, the Irish in boxing, there's a special thing with that. There is, it's like it's embedded, you know, this fighting Irish kind of spirit. But no, I like a bit of boxing, I'm not going to box now because I feel you have reach on me. uh tell me like you know what actually you've got the moves I've got the moves I've got the pretty looks as well what's your technique do you like to keep so I like doing this jab so it's like that but I like going through the guard so back and bam I think you've got it on me do a couple more just don't make that

wait we getting this on the camera look at that. If you went like that, like slip. Elbows up, I shouldn't do that. It's the long upper cut for me. It's like that. It's like that and that. I want to count... Oh, Jesus. You know what? You should come train him with me.

The mic. Has he fucked up the mic? He's in trouble. I'm playing. I'm playing with you. This is a great interview already, you know what? This is a mess. So, I'd like to just quickly deal with Killing of a Sacred Deer, just because I really enjoyed it and I feel like as a fan of horror films and weird films, it's one of those films that you afterwards, you're like, what was that?

And you know, I don't, you know, I won't do any spoilers but you, you, you... I'd Stephanie out there already. You can spoil away. I mean, it's like seven years old. Yeah. Well, you play a kind of macabre character who seems to be playing havoc with someone's life and you are... I'm weird in it.

You're just weird in it, right? Fucking really weird. What do we say about that? What do we say about that? What was it like making it? It was for me working with Jorgos was a dream and Colin and Nicole but at that time he works in a very specific way. Colin Farrell I should say and Nicole Kidman. Yeah. I'm doing my job now. You know he works in a very specific way he reminds me about almost like the, you know, Stanley Kubrick was my favorite director.

And he reminds me of Kubrick, the modern Kubrick, Jorgos, you know. But I mean the direction and on set, you know, he's just chill and he's such a caring lad, Jorgos. You know, he just has the crack. And you know, one note I got I remember from him was stop acting. And basically stop moving. But I can't help moving. I do have ADHD, like I'm diagnosed ADHD and I'm moving always. How had you, how had you come onto Jorgos's radar? I sent the tape in and they, you know, Ed Guiney produced them, they were looking and they said they just

couldn't like, unsee it, you know what I mean? I should quickly say, like, Colin Farrell's a doctor, and I'm going to slightly spoil it, basically, he's got this relationship with a young man, a 16 year old played by you and you don't quite- Man-kid. Man-child. You can't quite figure out what it's about, they keep meeting up, you're like, where's this going?

And then the reveal is, spoiler, turn this off if you need to. The reveal is that years earlier in an operation, Colin the doctor has killed the kid's dad. And therefore there's this guilt thing that's going on behind their relationship. This is sort of attempt to assuage his guilt. But then the boy seems to be endowed with what seems to be a macabre gift to wreak havoc in people's lives. So you have this simultaneous vulnerability, but also a sinister quality. Exactly. And I think that, you know, with Yorgos, you know, playing it straightforward kind of leaves it open for that kind of interpretation. Like, you know, rather than playing it with

bad demeanor, you know, if you play it straight, it's even worse and it's even more, it comes across like with much more of an impact and a lot more creepier, I think. So it did work, I think it did work for that character. Are you aware of having a gift for being sinister and creepy? Because that's like a double edged compliment. It is. Do you have a gift for being weird and evil? No, you know what, it's just certain characters that really speak. It's more the directors for me. The directors can bring it out, but listen, you've got something. I don't want to be like overdo it but you know the thing is is

you've got some quality that I remember the first time I saw you in something your look is obviously distinct you've got something about you like it feels weird even saying that because I think commenting on someone's appearance no you know what it's nice though and I like that because some of the comments on my appearance is completely different and absolutely disgusting and the stuff I read just about your appearance yeah and just saying. I've only read positive. It's quite nice that you're able to point that out and that. Were we weird looking?

I didn't say that. No, I'm saying. No, but I felt like I touched on something real there. Do you feel like you get trolled? Are you getting shipped for people? In general, everyone kind of does on the internet and it's, you're worse for going on and looking. I don't know, it's a sad way, you know what I mean, to kind of pick someone's appearance apart and you know, especially on this TikTok as well and you

know people can sit there and make videos and be like, I don't like his face, he looks weird or he looks evil and you know, I just pick you apart. And I think that's, you know, it's just, I don't know. Again, I should be on the internet, but I'm a young lad who's curious and I wanna know what's been said. Yeah. That's heavy.

I like looking weird. But full disclosure, when you were coming in, I was like, you know, it's funny because you've been identified with roles and I suppose some of them could be characterized as weird. And weird has been a brand that I've been saddled with for good or ill, like Mr. Weird, TV's Mr. Weird, documentaries about the weird side of life. I've also noticed that when I first came up on TV, I never kind of went around as a teenager thinking I'm a weird looking guy, or I'm a geek, I'm awkward but then once you you're in the public eye and suddenly all that commentary is unleashed and you suddenly think

oh I never realized I kind of look like that or that people so squarely pegged me with that with that particular label I don't know it sounds like you're dealing with something a little similar or not yeah you know what it's again it's lucky I have tough skin to be honest. But it is, it's just, you know, a movie comes out and people can just really judge it and pick it apart online. And sometimes that does, it hits a little and it's very, it's just sad to see people like that. And yeah.

I'm going to glide us gently into a positive, which is where I was trying to go with this. This is from A.O. Scott in the New York Times. Mr. Keoghan, recently seen in Dunkirk, has the ability to at once solicit and repel sympathy, a face that suggests both absolute innocence and terrible cunning. Martin, that's the character in it. Yeah, in sacred dear. In sacred dear. It's an abstraction, the embodiment of an occult principle of cosmic vengeance. What a name, Martin. Just saying. Martin, Martin. Martin, Hale Collins says it.

Yeah, Martin. Martin. It doesn't suit, I don't know. It doesn't, it doesn't feel like an evil name. No, it doesn't suit the character. Which is quite good. Mr. Keoghan makes him appropriately menacing and also pitiable since he's also a grieving needy child. This incongruity is the key to the movie. I think what he's saying is that you have, well it's recapping what I was saying.

There's this gift for being both vulnerable and menacing. But I think you were saying that's not in you. No, do you know what? It's not like, I don't search or seek out roles that have a demeanour of being evil. I just want to show range and get to play different parts on the directors I love. Let's say the likes of Dunkirk to Sacred Air actually and they were in the same year. Like one is completely innocent and naive and the other one has a fucked up, you know, kind of evil string about him.

You know, for me it's just kind of showing that range that you can play both. But yeah, I do want to get away from the weird parts. Do you? Yeah, definitely. That's interesting. I mean, I get that. When you want to keep growing, you don't want to do the same thing. You want to be like, oh, he's the guy who always plays.

No, you want to kind of show, like, you want a body of work that goes from one side of the road to the other. And it's, again, it's all based on previous work on okay, I've done that So how can I differ and how can I go completely opposite the other way and it's it's just you know A bit of a challenge which I want and also just yeah trying to get that, you know body of work and recognized What do you look for? In roles and I should I should acknowledge that you must be besieged with offers. It must be wonderful. It feels like post-Saltburn.

You've got a couple of new movies coming out as well, both really excellent, exciting. So do you feel like... Saltburn was like a massive opportunity, you know, that character alone, just to, you know, the arc that he has in the movie, just for any actor to play that part, it was a massive opportunity. So I was really, really chuffed and blessed to get that because you got to showcase a wide range of emotions and really get put to the test. There was that, and I should have mentioned Benchies of Inna Sheeran, Martin McDonagh's

film. And so it feels like after that though, do you have a sense of what you, how do you choose what's next? Like do you know what it is that you're looking for in material? Is it about the writing, directors? Is it about... I think for that it's, you know, there's such a... there's an anticipation then or there's a pressure that you kind of put on yourself really to try and make the next one better or you know try go as

I said earlier on like you know and play a completely different part and that can sometimes be dangerous because you can pick a wrong project or you can rush into something that you're not massively attached to, just because you're trying to give people those answers and that. But for me, I don't like to rush in. I mean, I've not done a movie since a year now, over a year. I've no need to rush in and I've started to understand that less is best. You know, people can get really tired of seeing your face. And you know, when you look at the actors like Daniel Day-Lewis and Christian Bale, they don't show up on everything.

They pick their parts quite cautiously and so I'm trying to learn from that. How was the whole experience of having Saltburn and Banshees in the same year? Did it feel like it was roughly the same year? Same period of time. Did it feel exciting? Incredible man. Yeah. You know again I will say I'm very blessed to to get to work with Mark McDonagh and Emerald Fennell and band She's was I remember yeah filming that that was quite a tough journey I got this necrotizing fascia. I was reading about that yeah oh my god. I know right. Can I come and take a little look at it?

Yeah yeah yeah it's a good scar though eh?, that is a good scar. It's good because... I can't feel that. It's hard. Seriously, people in Radio Land, I'm looking at Barry's elbow, the underside of his elbow, so it's discreet. It's the best kind of scar because you can hide it if you don't feel like showing it, but nevertheless, under your elbow there's a fairly serious sort of like three or four inch zigzagging gash. Yeah and then there was like big blisters but necrotized and fasciitis is a very rare bacterial infection, you know, and leave it to me to get it. But that was quite a scary experience and that happened like two weeks before production.

And I remember Mark McDonagh coming to the hospital to visit me me and being like are you still able to do this movie and I Just had surgery. They wanted to amputate the arm for real for real there and they were telling me if if we don't catch it and There's a chance you could possibly die and they couldn't figure out what it was exactly You know and they had to in combination with the doctors and surgeons there They had to bring surgeons over from Liverpool to have a look at it. It was a tough time. How did you get it?

I don't know. It's, everyone, apparently everyone has it on their skin. Yeah, it's a kind of bacteria that everyone has. And then once in a blue moon, it goes rogue. And then sometimes they used to, I remember every now and then there's like, seems to be a scare summer where there's like the flesh-eating bacteria is rampant in the UK's hospitals. But you didn't start with a little cut or something? You didn't graze yourself. Did it start with a graze? Was

there anything that predates? was there a precursor incident? Uh, like I got hit with a bottle on the eyebrow. That's what it was. It caught. It did caught. What did that, now we've got another, now we've got something else. No, see, I shouldn't have said that. You're good. Do you do, um... You're doing so good. Will you be my therapist?

Okay, so we wound back and then we arrived somewhere else. You got hit by a bottle. Yeah I got hit with a bottle. There was a disagreement. In a pub? No no no it was just I won't go any further. I got hit with a bottle and it was it made a cut and whatever happened with the cut it got in. Yeah. Because when I went in to get this stitched my arm started swelling and you're like, whoa, hold on a second. I was like, what? And my arm went massive. And I mean, when I say that size, like, like these blisters came on here. And I was just like, it was spreading all up your arm. Yeah. And I thought like it was like, I don't know. I don't know what I thought it was, but they couldn't figure it out. And they're like, we need to look at that.

I don't know. I don't know what I thought it was, but they couldn't figure it out and they're like we need to look at that When that happened then we had like literally 14 days to kind of get surgery on it. They moved really quick How did it how did the idea of an amputation get mentioned? Do you know what I was on so much kind of? Medication and drips and I just kind of nodded, you know What did they say the doctor said like they said we just going to let you know that there's a possibility of death here if if it spreads or we'll have to amputate the arm first. And you know, I just wasn't, I just didn't take it in. Yeah, but they, the doctors and the surgeons, they did a great job. I really mean that. And I remember Martin coming to the hospital being like, you know, because it was such

an unlucky event to get that right before filming. And I missed the whole section of rehearsal because I was in the hospital getting this, you know, because it takes two, three weeks to cure and they won't let you leave. Mason- So what was the surgery? They were just sort of scooping out the bad meat? Yeah, they took so much pus out and then they done another one and they took more. It's your right arm. Yeah. So that's for your straight right.

I tell people I got bit by a shark though, you know. It's what it looks like. A baskin shark in Ireland. Could have affected your boxing. It could have. Not many one-armed boxers. There's probably a few though. No, but honestly it was such a, it was a scary time.

And then I was on like medication and yeah, it was rough. But anyways, skipping the scar. Where were we? Well, we were right there talking about your necrotizing fascinators. We don't know how good this coffee is. No, but that's, I'm just trying to think about Well, we were right there talking about your necrotizing. We're talking about how good this coffee is. No, but that's it.

I'm just trying to think about what that feels like. Getting that news. Yeah. I mean, you get some sort of PTSD from it. You know what I mean? Definitely. I don't think, you know,

I really have dealt with it yet. Not to put a drama on it or a pity part on it, but it's quite serious. And yeah, I just kind of pull it to the back. I once, my left ball, bollock testicle, swelled up to like five times its normal size. I won't tell the whole story, because it's about you? Not about me. But I went to the doctor. It really hurts. I was fine with my balls being huge. I would have preferred

if they were both huge, not just one. But the pain was the main issue. So I went to the doctor and long story short, they said, do you mind if we bring in a few students? Because I'd like them to have a look at this. You know those classic case where they get the students to observe. Like, I dropped my trousers, my shorts, and they're all having a good look at my balls. They said, well, there's two things it could be. And there's a small likelihood that the one of the things it could be could kill you. I was like, OK, I didn't need to hear that. They didn't need to show all the students that.

The students didn't. I don't know if the students were in the room for that, but let's say they were. It makes a better story. All the students are in there like, this is awkward. Anyway, the point is just it didn't feel good. And I went on antibiotics and it was fine. What was it though? It was orchitis, which just means an infected. That's scary because like, you know, cancer and that.

That's what I think. I don't think the first symptom of cancer is that your ball becomes five times as normal. I don't think so but it was it was weird and uncomfortable and yeah and it went down but it was it was it was awful. I don't know why I needed to tell you. No I get to know you a bit better. There we go. It makes me open up a bit more. Yeah, I'm trying to make myself more human. You know what I mean? I get like this relation now, you know? I was so nervous coming in here. Why?

I'm like, it's like a therapy session, but for the public. You're a big fan. I am a big fan. No, honestly, I'm a big fan. But it works better when I don't tear you up to say that. No, it is. Like, I'm a master. I actually asked my team to reach out to you.

Did you appreciate that? I did. I'm a big fan. And then when we got the confirmation, I was like, oh, are we doing it? And they're like, yeah, I'm like, so I've been listening to like, you know, Eminem, Lose Yourself with the music,

and the way of like trying to get ready. Have yourself up. Yeah, and it's actually cash. It's so cash. It's so low key, it's borderline disappointing. What were we gonna to talk about? So Benchies... So Benchies, yeah, that was again, just touching on that.

When I say blessed, I really mean that. Some things are just blessings. I don't believe in luck, but I believe you can be blessed. And that was such a gorgeous experience, living with Colin and, you know, working with Kerry and Brendan and just the Irish crew and just being on Ackle Island where it's almost like the the kind of Ireland you see in movies.

And I even always looking around going, where the fuck is the leprechaun? I'm going to see leprechaun now. There was a rainbow that just appeared. Whereabouts is that? Ackle, it's fourtis West in Ireland, a little island. So it's remote? Very, very remote. I mean all of that was like they built the house and but all of that existed there, the pier and it was beautiful. So since then, well those came out here, you said for the last year you've been chilling a bit more. Was there a decision behind taking a bit of time off?

You know for me it's when I sign onto something, I'm going to a place where I'm going to bring a massive amount of vulnerability and emotion and that's tiring, exhausting and I just ad I drain you. You know, I'm always a little bit disappointed in myself after everything. There is good moments as well, but I'm always a little disappointed that, you know, how I work and the method I use is like,

I try to recreate and I try to bring real emotion to it and I'm feeling, and think of things in the past and bring it to the it and I'm feeling and thinking things in the past and and bring it to the surface and use it and that can just really, it can scare you in a way but you can also feel like a little bit of a, I don't know, sell out, like you know that I'm doing this for, I don't know. I think you understand what you're saying? Yeah I do. You say sell out, but do you mean like you're digging deep to use something precious? Yeah. Something very personal and you say sell out what do you mean like you're digging deep to use something precious Yeah, something very cool and you're putting it out there. You're adulterating it or

Exactly. It's some way Constituting. Yeah, exactly. You're putting out there and certain things I bring it's like you're left to deal with it, you know and I you know, I do therapy and I've got a good way of managing stuff now in a really nice way. And I can vent a lot and get a lot of closure. But often the times you're left with a lot of stuff and you just kind of have to... That stuff can just waddle there, you know, and stuff that you didn't need to touch on. Some people don't do that. Some people are able to, boom, switch it on. But I like to, you know, get that kind of therapeutic experience in a way from it. It's a weird, like it's a weird thing, I want to have something to draw from.

So I don't want to go back and have clothes on everything. Dude, I don't think that's really an option. I hate to break it to you. You never become normal. Do you know what I mean? I wouldn't like to. I think most people would say that attaining tranquility is a daily struggle. I mean day to day, your life experience, you deal with new problems. Not to put a whole damper on this whole thing, but you know, it's just, you're trying to reach that place. Music and you know looking at pictures or you know just what helps you helps me get there and get into the into the place into the zone into the zone for acting yeah now I can't do stage I've never

done stage and my notes told me you did some stage at O'Connell school yeah like a 12 or 13 year old but then you were banned for being too naughty. Is that what they said? That's what it said on Wikipedia. Wikipedia. My sources. They're right. Is that true? Yeah. It wasn't naughty, it was a bit more like the messer and I remember they wanted to do me to go for like the ADHD, what do you call it, testing. I remember avoiding that because the stigma around I didn't want to be put in That class for that. Do you know what I mean? But that was the thing was just lack of attention and always away

I'll be scribbling and you know drawing characters and giving them a backstory and you know thinking I'm like fucking Dennis Domenis making slingshots with pencils and it was never I'm bad. It was just more no, I'm like fucking Dennis Domenis making slingshots with pencils and it was never aren't bad it was just more... No I'm sure I want to talk a bit about your upbringing and background and whatnot but we should deal with I know it's probably really boring for you no it's not boring no no but I'd like to just deal with Saltburn because I have a lot of basic bitch listeners I can't believe I just

said that you just said that no because. No, because a lot of people would be like, oh, ask him about Saltburn and the dance. The dancing? That wasn't me, by the way. Go on. No, I'm playing. Of course it was me. Yeah, the dance. I thought you were talking about you, because the speculation was that your willy had been enhanced.

Yeah, not enhanced. Who said that? I don't know. They said it was a prosthetic penis or something. No. Someone said that. Who said that? I don't know. Wow. was a prosthetic penis or something someone said that who said that I don't know Wow Wow was it but it was all you it was all me you know and and again and no but was and it was a it was a thing that I didn't really bat an eyelid to it you know I would buy an eyelid if it didn't fit the story. I remember me and Emeril talking to chats and it started off with my clothes.

She's like, we just need to make it a bit more ownership. He's got this mansion at the end. It's his space. When you have that space, we all do it at home. We walk around naked. Because we're comfy in it and this is our environment. So we're just trying to get that across. And for people who don't know, it's at the end of the movie where, spoiler alert, everyone okay? You dance around the mansion after machinating viciously for an hour and a half two hours or killing everyone Or pushing everyone out of the scene. You've you've you've emerged with the prize It's just beautiful to look at that

I'm not only saying that I sound like such a cocky fact, but you know to watch Like the body of someone roam through rooms like that. It's like a painting almost so they said maybe it's better if you're naked Yeah, we got to that place my It didn't say that in the script? No but my hesitation was the dancing. I don't like dancing. Interesting. But if it's required like in weirdly when it's the character again this is this kind of thing of when it's not you you'll do it you know. If it fails, and if it kind of moves the script and the story forward. But yeah, I don't like dancing. Did it surprise you how it went kind of viral and it became just one of the moments of the year? Yeah, I mean that's gonna happen, isn't it? Is it? Yeah, look at TikTok again. Yeah, but I feel like I could dance naked through a stately

home and maybe it wouldn't get as much pickup. I'd retweet it. Would you? Definitely, over and over again. I'd make certain accounts to keep retweeting it. There's something about it. It was obviously spoke to the,

thank you for that by the way. Do you do too much Twitter or not? No, I actually don't. I don't have a Twitter account. Did you come off? I came off it because I forgot my password, thank God. Right. But I did get the password the other day. Someone sent it to me and that on my TikTok.

I was furious when I signed back in. I'm like, this is so, it's such a nasty place. It's become a very weird... You know, they show a lot of stuff. It's like going, speaking to a, you know, somebody who's been in a DC film, it's like going into Arkham Asylum. It really is. I mean, in that, it's like visiting, a bit like visiting maybe a forensic mental hospital for violent criminals.

It's kind of interesting. Yeah. You go around there and it's a world where... It gives you a thrill of taboo. Everyone has a platform to say what they want, which is fine and which everyone has to write about. It's just a nasty place and the negative comment is the popular comment. The world is just, I don't know, people just want to see people fall and fail. I feel like you've been touched by that in some way. Is that right? Yeah, a lot. A lot.

Why? I need to go to the toilet before I get into this. Go! Can I use the toilet? Yeah, I'll come here and I'll just keep the... I'll keep listeners amused with another story about my medical history. I can't hear it! So then the other testicles swelled up.

But this time it was ten times the size. It was as big as an ostrich egg. Just pull the door. Use your muscles. Sorry if I'm deaf. Not at all. I forgot to put this up as well. Oh what's that? It's like... Diamonds. Diamonds, I wish. Do you like diamonds? I mean,

I can take them or leave them. Guess what I have? No, I have a wolf. Oh, that's cool. That's like a moonstone. You know, it's like gives good energy and he only has three legs now. God bless. But I always play out on interviews. Barry's showing me a tiny little carved wolf. Do you believe in sort of that kind of thing? Yeah. Do you? Yeah, I do. You know what, it gets me boy. Does it? I'm religious as well. Are you? Are you an observer? Yeah. Catholic? Yeah. You know, not in a way that's like forced, but you know, again, my granny will get to that but she took me in and you know, there was just growing up as that kind of, you know, and again, I have my own connection with God.

I don't necessarily believe in the golden heavenly gates, but I definitely believe that there's some sort of higher power and I think some people find, you know, that it's a weak thing to believe in faith or believe in a higher power, but yeah, for me it works. Well, since you... can we talk about where you came from a little bit? Is that alright? Yeah. Because it reads as... It came from my mum. It came from your mum, like many of us Something you've talked about a bit before that you went through a lot growing up How would you how would you like to talk about it?

and Yeah, like I mean, yeah, it's been talked about and you know publicized and again, I was younger so, you know, I didn't really go into it into it. Yeah, I feel it's been publicized and sort of in a pity story way. Oh, God bless him. His mom passed away, I don't know, torturing foster homes. I actually seen that on an article.

I know he's came to this. I'm not giving out about any of that, but it's just that's not what I'm looking for either, you know. If anything, I speak about it to let younger kids know that no matter where you come from, you know, you can always achieve what you put your mind to and you know, not to give up and you know, stay persistent on it. And stay persistent on it. And it's for that reason I do it, solely for that reason. It's not to make anyone pity me or because I don't need that, you know. For what it's worth, like I think in terms of how I've read it in the things that I read, it didn't come across in any way as woe is me or a victim narrative.

Yeah. And I think it was quite striking how you spoke. Some people were like, yeah, they were, you know, again, some people put it across really nice and that. But how I spoke about it before, it's, I've sort of kind of round it in because it's like, when I seen it kind of getting, you know, putting articles and retweet, it's like, well, this is just sort of coming across as if I'm saying it for that reason. And that's just my kind of take on it. But I'm'm not I don't ever want to speak of my mom or my dad's you know they're not here to defend themselves but it's a

you know I've really only ever touched on it on the on the surface you know yeah well I mean we can talk about as little or as much as you like the part of it that I find interesting I suppose is is the fact that you've kind of, as you say, come from that and done extraordinary things, like achieved global stardom and extremely high level of success. Yeah. Again, it's more for the kids. You know, and not only that, just the area I come from as well. To achieve something from the area where I'm from is to finish school it's massive you know it's Dublin's inner city it's you type it in online you'd see you know it's history and it's an area

called Summer Hill. Summer Hill it's right in the centre. Is it in the heart of Dublin? Yeah and full of gorgeous people you know with massive hearts and at the same time very dangerous. Tell me about it because I've never been there. I've been to Dublin but not Summerhill. It ain't bunches of insurance, you know, but again it's just... What's it like, the physical fabric of it? Is it old buildings? Is it housing estates? Council blocks. Is it? Yeah, it's like a London. It's like London. It's very, very, very that way in comparison. And it's, as I said, there's gorgeous people there

and that, but there's such a, you know, you're lucky to get out. To say you want to be an actor back then as well, or like in an area like that, it can shut your confidence down. And it does not- Because things like that don't happen to people from there. They don't happen.

And we have, you know, Kelly Harrington, who won gold twice now in the Olympics for boxing happen. We have, you know, Kelly Harrington, who won gold twice now in the Olympics for boxing. Like, we have people like that that just inspires young kids. And you got, like, a lot of good people as well that have made it out. But there's not a big opportunity there. And I want to go back and set up some sort of a U-club, you know, and employ people from around the area and

and set up some classes and not only for acting but like, you know, me and Kelly have discussed about maybe doing boxing and acting and other stuff that kind of give kids a chance to go to this place and you know after school and have some food and and if they want to work on you know being a stylist or just kind of nurture that and kind of let them see that there's a chance for that as well. I mean, to what extent do you feel your mum was a victim of the area being flooded with heroin?

I think my mum just, you know, she just got caught like a lot of other people and you know, no one knew the repercussions of heroin. You know, it's a basketball doors is a great movie that kind of puts it into perspective you know Jim Carroll. No one knew the repercussions and it was a cool thing to do on a Tuesday night or on a Wednesday night and then people are hooked then. You know my mum she was lovely she, she was gorgeous, almost like six foot, dark hair, just beautiful, every lad was chasing her. This thing caught her, like many families.

It's sad to see the deterioration of people around the area and see people struggle with it and the recovery they're in now and but it caught, it caught my mom, it caught my uncle who died of it and caught, yeah, it caught my father as well. But yeah, and she was just unable to look after us. I mean she did, she did try and there was a whole, you know, process of her being kind of, what's the word, like when someone is there beside her to... Evaluated? Evaluated and that. And they were trying to support her, I presume?

Yeah, like on weekends she'd get visits to, it was like, you know... Because they saw what? The social services saw she was struggling. Yeah. And they're like, we need to see what we can do here. Yeah, I've seen that and then My father wasn't there and then she just couldn't look after so we we got talking to care and no one knew about this And I think she was too embarrassed to tell my granny, you know

And so no one kind of knew that's when we went through all that Did the different homes and was you and your brother Eric just the two of you yeah just the two of us is he older or younger he's younger but I'm a couple of years younger no just one year younger but yeah we em she'd be allowed to visit us on set like Saturdays and sometimes she wouldn't be there she wouldn't make it mm-hmm and it's just those things that kind of haunts me still. You don't forget those things. You don't forget waiting on the social worker steps and waiting for the new family to come

and play with you in the little kind of playground they have in the office and see if it's going to work and then go with them to a whole new area and a whole new home. Like you don't forget those things and you know, the car journeys there and they're the things that haunt and I don't blame her, you know, I don't, she was, it's a sickness, you know, but you ask these questions of why, you know what I mean? Where were you? Why? And I remember even like, you get me into it now, innit? I don't want, listen, I don't... No, like, you know, it's, it's, again, it's, I feel like in a safe space, you know, and it's, yeah. It's a lot for a Monday morning. It's Monday, innit? But no, you do, you don't forget those things. You don't forget the smells, like when I, you know, she'd be taking it, like, you know, she'd be using heroin and it'd be in the

house and you don't forget all those things. You know what I mean? So I'm quite proud of myself to be sitting here, like, because again, it's something that I don't think a lot of people will ever understand. It must have helped having Eric, your brother, there, right? I mean, didn't it? At least you got someone. Some consistency. Yeah, and sometimes they can separate the children or the siblings.

But me and Eric, you know, we stayed together and we... You know, I remember when we'd be sitting on the steps somewhere and we made this song up about my mom and, you know, called Dare Debbie. And he often tells me about this, you know, he remembers certain things that I don't remember. And he'll often say, remember that song, you know what I mean? And just stuff like that, she must have been in a lot of, a lot of pain and struggle. Well, I think with heroin as with opiates in general, you take it first as a way of escaping

and then it becomes an addiction, something that's got its hooks in you. And people say, oh, I wouldn't get addicted, but you only have to look at the statistics in America for the opioid crisis to see no almost no one Maybe no one at all is immune that actually once it's got you in its clutches Yeah, oh you become a different person like you know even there's a scene in basketball I always say this movie, but there's a scene because it hits hard

There's a scene in that basketball diaries, you know and he carried a notebook around with him as well And my mom carried a notebook. I should say it's a Leonardo DiCaprio film. Who was it directed by? Oh, jeez, I don't know. Well, I remember meeting Leonardo DiCaprio and saying it to him, like what that movie meant to me. But he carried the notebook around. And my mother, which I then found out.

He's addicted to heroin in the film, right? Based on a real life memoir. At 14, you know. And the audiobook is great. If you listen to it, Jim Caroll, he's dead now, God bless him. The author? Yeah, he narrates it and you can hear it. But anyways, there was a scene in that movie where he comes to the front door and that actual scene happened at my granny's house.

My mum, I remember laying in bed and screaming through the letter box like just wanting money you know and we had to lay in bed and my aunt and granny was like just don't go downstairs like you know I mean and that haunts me you know that was one of the last times I heard her like our voice and that stuff haunts me You know, she needed money to score. Yeah. It's that kind of stuff. And then people kind of have a judgment on me as a parent. I'm like, well, until you've walked a day in my shoes, growing up as a kid, then you can comment. Who judges you as a parent? There's a lot. There's a lot online. If I didn't have tough skin or the strength to have, I wouldn't be sitting here. Of course, it's going to affect me being a father If I didn't have tough skin or the strength to have, I wouldn't be sitting here. Of course, it's going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from.

And people just read that laziness and go, oh, that's no excuse to be an absent father. I'm not an absent father, you know what I mean? But it's just, again, people love to use my son as as kind of, you know, it's like ammunition or whatever. And it kind of leads me to stop. You know, the more attention I've got lately and the more in the public I've become, the less I've posted about my child, because I don't think it's fair to put my child online to sick people out there. Yeah. And because I I've arranged that in, people draw a narrative and go absent father shit deadbeat dad you know and

more disgusting things I wouldn't even repeat just the audacity of some people man it sickens me more than if like makes me furious are you talking about comments like comments underneath posts that you make? There was a comment the other day, they asked me in an interview, what's it like to play a father? Because this is relevant to the new film, but, Andrew Arnold film, and you play a dad, not the best father, but I don't have that comparison because she's taught in the movie, whereas my son is two year old. I don't have that traditional father relationship with him. You know what I mean? And what I meant by that was I don't have that blueprint.

Not many people do either. I'm not trying to like this. It's not a comparison to go. I've had it worse than you, but I don't have that blueprint. Yeah. You know, I don't have these kind of things that are in us to go, don't like, don't do that. Or my father taught me this song and I don't have it from my mother either.

You know, my granny was my father and my mother in one. Like she was more of a man than any feckin' father. And I don't have that. And I got twisted online to go, oh, what an excuse to be a deadbeat dad. You know what I mean? I'm like, if you read on, but again, these people have no indication.

I ain't gonna feed them. I ain't gonna give them, you know, more material to go, no, no, no, look, I'm with my child or I'm not. You don't deserve that. No. I don't mean to be... state the obvious, but I'd advise you to not look at comments. I've been off it, because when I'm going through a role and I'm getting into character, I stay with the internet.

It affects me, I stay off, I lessen my phone as best. I'm in the zone, and that's a therapeutic know affects me. I stay off. I lessen my phone as best you know, I'm in the zone and that's that's a therapeutic kind of process for me and a Relief and an excuse not to be near it But again when I've got a bit of time, I am a curious being, you know, like all of us and you want to You want to kind of sometimes know what especially when it's slander and when it's bad comments yeah attacking my parents or attacking me as a father I've even blocked out certain words because I'm I don't want to read that like what like just like stuff like my son and I just don't people don't deserve to put

that in a sentence anything yeah you know I'm just trying to try to make a living trying to get some like, you know, good body of work and create a safety for my child. You've said that. Okay, here we go. This is the quote, abandonment. It's embedded in me so deeply, I've got to work through it because I've got other responsibilities now. But you know what? We talked about that. I don't want to languish. It's more abandonment and it's more trust, you know. I've about that. I don't want to languish. It's more by minutes more trust, you know I've certain trust issues and it's again. It's it's poster boy like coming from where I come from It's like when you see and you go through that experience

It's like how can you trust anything and when you get attached to a family and then oh you got to go here now How long you were with 13 families right? 13 foster homes yeah and they were all incredible let me just say. I was gonna ask, how was that? They were all great you know. How long would you be with each one? I can't even put in like a timer I don't know. Between the ages of ages of what? Ages of five to seven I think or nine. My granny took me in at nine and but again it's just all these different families I can't anything. I'm only getting around to it now. I never trusted when someone said they loved me. I never trusted the process. Like, ever. I'd always think, nah, this isn't real. This isn't... And I'm very aware of it, you know, walking through therapy and that.

But I'm just getting around to it trust is a massive thing and like yeah the Louis Theroux podcast welcome everyone happy Monday when is this gonna be played happy Monday what it comes out on a Tuesday someone's like listen to this going to gym they're like ah fuck this gym it comes out on Tuesdays if that makes any difference I watched 3 Bill,. Yeah, go on. No, Abamman, like just back to that. It's Abamman slash trust and, you know, all these things that I'm massively aware of,

but it's when you have to put these things into play and, you know, do certain things that your therapist tells you to do to work on it. And, you know, it's a... I can see, I can feel growth. What I was going to ask was, how's Eric? Like, how's your brother? Does he act as well? No, he doesn't act.

Acts the maggot. Is that an expression? Yeah. It's an Irish thing. What does it mean? Just acts. Acts up, naughty. Acts up, wherever.

But you've got a good relationship. No, he's a good lad, Eric. Is he back in Dublin? He's back in Dublin. What does he do? He actually works on movie sets. What about your dad? Do you have a relationship with him? My dad's passed away what does he do? He actually works on movie sets. What about your dad? Do you have a relationship with him? My dad's passed away. Has he? Yeah, he passed away when I was

15. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, sorry. I knew he hadn't been present in your life. I didn't realize he'd actually died Yeah, yeah. Yeah, he um He passed away when I was 15. I was in care with my granny. So how did you, you know, at what point did acting come into the picture? Was that a lurching segue? So your dad died, when did acting come in?

No, come on. Jesus. Yeah, stop it. No, I'm trying to listen. No, I'm playing. People are listening to this in the gym and they're trying to get this. I know, they're like halfway through, they're on. Jesus. Yeah, stop it. No, I'm trying to listen. No, I'm playing. People are listening to this in the gym and they're trying to get this. I know, they're like halfway through.

They're on the treadmill. Like, everyone left the gym by this stage. If you're still listening and you're in the gym, you need to talk to someone. At some point you got, you had this dream of being an actor, right? I didn't, you know. Again, it's not encouraged where I come from, you know.

It's not encouraged. It's, you know, again, it's not encouraged where I come from. You know, it's not encouraged. It's a. You know, I remember I used to wear denim. I was getting into character for like a short film. I was doing I wore denim coats, the card or denim and a shark to know what the fuck you were, man. You know, when I'm standing on out in the corner with them and then they started encouraging it.

I mean, like, you know what? If anyone's going to make it from the area to, you know, I remember it. I mean like you know what if anyone's gonna make it from the area to, you know I remember it sounds silly but I remember even looking into it was a pole we were looking in the pole we were standing there the X factor was on and they were like you know you're gonna make it like they're gonna make it you know what I mean? And even coming home from Dunkirk on weekends and they were like, what you coming back here for? Like you know, I mean you should be like, if we see you back here, like I'm gonna give you the slaps, you know? Always kind of encouraging me to do better.

But again, when I started it wasn't the thing. I seen it in, I was coming to the boxing club and I seen it, a thing in the local shop. I was like actors with no experience I was like I want to be an actor. How old were you have been? I was like 15 16. So you'd done a little bit of stuff at school? On stage. Which you'd enjoyed? Which I loved. Yeah. I loved because I got time off and free class. Were you aware of being good at it? When the teachers that didn't like me came up to me and went, you're good, I went, maybe I am good. But you did then think maybe this is not... I liked the attention it gave me and the sense of, I don't know, like I could be silly. You know, there's a license

to be silly. And I liked that. And I remember them saying, well, does this college... I'm like... And then I started going, you can't really go to college for acting I don't think you know I mean I didn't want to do that I didn't think you could be taught this stuff you know so I do my kind of own study on it and watch a lot of documentaries and the Paul Newman movies and my Alan Brando and my granny be giving out like going why are you watching these movies like they're so fucking. And I'd be watching how they behaved back then, especially men. How come it was those?

Cause some people, you're going back to the sixties now. They had a different way of talking. And Marlon Brando as well, he's one of my favorite. Any particular Brando? On the waterfront, you know. It was you, Charlie. Do you know what I mean? I could have been a contender.

Sort of like the year. Instead of being a bum! I came from... Let's face it... That's a very good impression. Louis Brando... Which, let's face it, is what I am. You've even done the job.

I can't do it. It's not your night! But I named my son Brando! That's one of my favourite scenes in all of cinema. It's not your night, because it's about betrayal. He's being betrayed by his older brother. You should have looked out for me a little bit, right? You should have looked out for me a little bit.

Well, you said one of your favourite scenes, so it's not the dance scene in Saltborne. No. Well that's top five. Top five? Well listen, I named my boy Brando, you know, that's how in love with fecking Marlon Brando I am, but again, that is, you know, when I do resonate with and watching, you know, again, as I said, I don't know why watching how men behave, do resonate with and watching, you know, again, as I said, I don't know why watching how men behave, maybe again, the lack of that male figure in my life and I wanted some sort of, you know, education on it. I mean, I was just fascinated with that and animals, you know, documentaries on animals and how animals could get certain things across and movement for me just body posture and stuff like that always fascinates me but what animals like you

can even the dog you can always tell what your dog is feeling that's powerful and I'm always in that lane of trying to perform through the body you know when people carry a movie on their shoulders and the camera like the wrestler and Darren Aronofsky and you got Mickey Rourke and he's walking and the shoulders say everything. Just how he's holding himself you know I mean like performances like that really that's what I started to look at and do my own kind of studying. So how did so you looked at those the ad in the in the window turned out to be for, I think it was an Irish one, Between the Canals. How much did you get

paid for that? 120 euro. 120 euros? Yeah. You're probably glad of the money. I mean I went straight to my auntie I think as well and I remember saying I'm gonna leave school now and become an actor, yeah, nah, you're not, like you're gonna finish school. Did you audition for? Between the canals. Yeah showed up on a on a dirt bike. I remember it saying you need to have a dirt bike You know, so yeah, I got one and I showed up and it's just basically Being yourself, which is always the hardest and I Just loved it. I love something with the camera

Joe someone always said to me, treat the camera like someone you fancy, play hard to get, turn away, and don't show everything. Let them chase you. And I've always kept that in mind. Even mumbling, I'm like, let them come in and hurt me. I'm not gonna project and give you, come into my space.

Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah, I do. Yeah. And you have the sense of there's a sense of permission, like there's a feeling that what you can well, first of all, someone's actually listening to you, right? Exactly. Which in life doesn't happen as often as maybe it should. No. And you've got in fact, not just one person like there's a room full that are paying attention to everything that you're doing. Yeah, like I hate, not hate rehearsal, but hate, you know, when they say, all right, like rehearsal for the crew, because then you have to project,

because the people at the back, and I'm not here to do that. Or I hate stage for that reason, because you're doing it for them, and I don't like that, you know, I just like this kind of thing because I'm quite shy as well. I can't. Someone goes, do an accent. I'm like, I need four weeks. Come back to me in four weeks, I'll do it. I can't really turn it on like that.

It's a process for me. I'm not an entertainer. I'm not going to do an accent for you. I'm not going to put on it. Did it feel like a big moment when you got when you did the audition and then you you got notified they said you've got the role? Yeah it felt great. That must have been huge. Yeah I remember ringing out my granny's phone I didn't have a phone um I don't have a phone for many years actually maybe that's the trick. Do it. That's what I think. I didn't have a phone and I remember ringing out my granny's phone, she got a lovely Nokia phone, and ringing the director and him being like, yeah, yeah, we just have to get funding and I was like, what's that?

I had no idea, I was totally new to this. I was so persistent, in a nice way. You know, so persistent, being like, yeah, but when? And he's like, I promise you I will get back to. And I remember being like, the first thing I looked at when I went up to the set was like the craft table being like, I can take this? I was like, yeah, yeah, it's all free. Like, yeah, I was like, in that case,

he's seen me pockets, I can chocolate and all. What would you have been like at that time, 14, 15? Yeah, like, you know, something like that. And I was, you know, just loving the idea of getting time off school and... But there was some part of you that believed that this could happen. It was definitely a part.

You know, the fact that you went up for the audition, you saw the notice and thought, that could be me, why not? And that's the thing, I never got that imposter syndrome or I don't belong here. I'm like, again, I'm such a fanboy, you know, when I meet people I'm not afraid to show them I'm a massive fan. Are people I work with or I'll just be a fanboy. But I never feel like I don't belong there. And when I kind of came to terms with that, and this whole thing of unique or weird, I think it's just embodying and being yourself truly and comfy with yourself and owning your imperfections.

Like, okay, I've got, I'm not the most prettiest, but I don't want to be, you know what I mean? I want to be me. And I think when you do that, they go, what is it he's doing? It's not doing anything but entirely being yourself, which is actually really hard. But like, you're bringing something that, you know, because there's not another you, you're bringing something that you know because there's not another you, you're bringing you and they've not seen it. Rather than going on and like I love Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, Daniel Day-Lewis but I'm not going on trying to impersonate them or how would they do it? I'm doing it as me. I think when I start to do that, you know, it's just again I didn't feel out of place or I felt I had something to

bring. I think you did a TV show called Love Hate. Love Hate, yeah. That was huge, right? Particularly in Ireland. When you map it out, like there seemed to be a series of steps that took you to where you are, right? Each one lifting you up a little further, exposing you to more people.

Was that an important one? Yeah, of course. I mean, every single one is an important one. It's a part of your journey. You played a cat killer. A cat killer. That's what they called me, because I killed a cat with a gun.

You kill one cat and they call you a cat killer. You know. What do they say? You fix one- They have nine lives or something. You fix one pipe, they don't call you a plumber. That's old gag, but you saw my joke. They said you suck one dick. They call you a cocksucker That's an old gag. We can take that out or leave it You heard that one

But if did it feel remember the best moment was when I got cast in sacred here They went cat killer cast alongside Nicole Kidman. Really? Was the headline? Yeah. That's classic. Was there a moment that felt like there's no going back? My ship has left port. This is it. We're on the way. Oh yeah, when I left the womb, I mean...

Oh, come on. No, literally. Sacred Deer, I can. Film Festival, I remember. That was the moment. I was like, the movie got a lot of attention and so did I. And I remember it just being like, this is it. You know what I mean? And again, it was a celebration. It was lovely at Nicole and Colin there. I was just, I remember going, okay, now I'm kind of a serious actor. Does that make sense?

Yeah, 100%. Or a serious artist. Nicole Kidman kissed your feet in a key scene. I haven't washed them since. That's the smell. But yeah, no, she did. And again, you're sitting in front of, you know, such an incredible actress who has a body of work that... She's always good.

You know what I mean? And she's lovely. She's kissing your feet and it's just like, even eating spaghetti, I'm sitting there in my boxers in front of her. Yeah. It's a key scene because you're basically, it's where you turn full evil in the movie

and I think you're explaining to her... About my daddy's spaghetti different or something. Yeah, I think you're explaining to her... About my daddy's spaghetti differentism. Yeah, but then your dad, and then you realised actually everyone eats the spaghetti the same way and it was the worst moment of your life and that's why I'm gonna destroy you and your family. Such a weird character, Martin. How are you doing, how's your energy?

Good. Are you okay? Yeah. How are you on, what page? Well you've only got like another 10, 15 pages. Do I die in it? You don't have that part. At the end you do.

No way, hell. But it's not for another 60 years. How would that would make you 91, 92 in 60 years? I live longer than that. No, 80. You're 31, 32. 31. Are we talking about Sabrina or not?

Are you in a relationship with Sabrina Carpenter? Oh I knew you'd do this. You don't have to. That's why I asked permission first. Listen. I'm like a vampire I have to be asked in. Can I come in? All I'm gonna say is yeah I'm incredibly blessed. Such a strong independent lady who's massively talented and yeah, very special. Louis, you got me. You're not a vampire. I didn't, I mean, you're it because you're... I wasn't, please, please, please. To my shame, I only knew her as a name, like, embarrassingly recently, like a couple of months ago my kids were like great video great music great but I'd heard the songs without

knowing who they were by she's from Pennsylvania did you know her Nancy her aunt is Nancy Cartwright who's the voice of Bart Simpson have you met her please please please it was that one of your favorites as well in the top five because I was in it please please please is a brilliant video you play the Yeah. Have you met her? It was Please Please Please It. Was that one of your favourites as well? I'm the top five. Because I was in it. Please Please Please is a brilliant video. You play the boyfriend. He's in prison.

He's a bad boy. She's trying to leave him, but she can't resist his evident physical charms. You saying I'm charming? You're flirting with me. Your physical charms, like you look pretty jacked. Is it? In the video. No, I think it's like the stuff I was wearing.

I think you work out though. Don't you I do We boxed earlier, you know boxings. You've got do you have a regimen? Like what's your routine in the gym? I mean always always work out always start today, you know Get I mean around this morning and did you yeah, you're really healthy You're healthy. You're like, I am I am we've done a test on me actually You know like the doctors and the sports nutritionist and you know, we done like a blood test and they said I have the body of an athlete. Yeah, just saying.

If I said you had the body of an athlete, would you hold it against me? No, you've got a great judge on people. That's a joke because would you hold it against me? You're full of that's a tag. I'm taking these dad jokes down man. Do you you mentioned boxing? Have you actually fought like? I'm just yeah. I was doing it leading up to a competition in England, the Hargrove Cup or something like that. It's called, I remember I had a GQ shoot the next day, and again, I had to get pulled out of that because I was in a GQ shoot.

I didn't show up to a shoot before with a bit of a black eye. So you fought at quite a high level. I wouldn't say a high, high level, but yeah, amateurs. Amateurs, yeah. So you were. Aspiring and. Do you wear head guards? Do you wear head guards?

Head guard, yeah. For the amateurs? For the amateurs, yeah. But like what you do in Dublin is you go to different clubs and you know, or wherever I was situated. Even Cincinnati actually, I remember fighting for their club. I remember filming Sacred Deer there and I joined the local boxing club. And Sacred Deer didn't know about it.

But I was like, prepping for a fight since the night you nearly and I remember like sparring and like going back to set and no one knew about it you know why did you want to do that what do you get out of it cuz it must be kind of um well how do you find it I find it presents you know you get I'm not trying to make it sound all dreamy but it's so present like you're not thinking about you know when you're brushing your teeth I've even started brushing my teeth with my left hand they kind of make me more present and focus on it because when you're brushing your teeth you think about getting in the car and in the car you think about getting

to wherever and with boxing and when you're acting you're just there it's present you are just in the moment you know I mean there's something very relieving about that that I don't have to worry and I'm just solely here that's what I get with boxing and people go oh yeah must be a lot of anger it's actually not it's so fucking you watch it it's like art you know I hope people move and you're learning and you've got a lot of respect for the person obviously after it and but it's a it's definitely not like for anger on how do you feel before a fight well it's baron and I don't fight anymore like well before you but back in the day oh yeah you're nervous you're nervous like you know I mean I remember

I got to a stage where like people started to recognize me and they're like oh it's the kid from love hate so to be sort of like filming it I'm like oh this is gonna be getting punched now and but before that before a scene before fight before a scene you have those nerves and it's anticipation and because you can't predict what's gonna happen. Listen, I think we've taken, we've taken a lot of your time. How are we gonna, I think you're in a good place now. And at the risk of embarrassing you, like I think you're a terrific actor. Thank you.

And I think everything you do, and I can see a bit of Brando in you. I know that probably sounds trite and cliche. That's very noisy to say. There's a physicality and a kind of naturalism and a thrown away quality that you know the point you made about being away from the camera a little bit and I feel so if I if I could act. You're a great actor. That's the like that's the kind of acting I would do. I'd be so naturalistic. Don't look at the camera. They'd be like it's either the the worst acting we've ever seen or it's the best actually we've ever seen Yeah, what's he doing? Because I would be I'd be like

What's he doing? Because we don't want that. Yeah, whatever he's doing, please make him stop and no one ever do it again Yeah, do you know what I mean? No, I do I get you i'd be my acting be so fucking it'd be like i'd be almost like Not acting that's the key Not acting Thank you, of course. thank you you're a legend you're a ledge come here here we go hugs thank you man appreciate it good to meet you I'm a myself fan I mean it likewise honestly I was really what a man but probably the best interview of

ever podcast I appreciate it okay getting all that in camera it was What a man. Probably the best interview I've ever had. I appreciate it. I'll keep getting all that in camera. It was definitely in my top 50. Get out of here. Hello, me again on my own. Yes, what an extraordinary and brilliant man. Nice talking to him and it is Keoghan. I think I might have said that but just for all you doubters, I checked.

Even my kids were giving me a hard time. Oh dad, it isn't Keoghan. What's wrong with you? I said he literally told me how you say it so you can take it up with him. Other people who spell their name the same may have a different pronunciation. The mysteries of the Irish language, you know, you've seen how the Irish people spell Siobhán, T-Shock, right, these are words that it bears no relation to the orthography, look it up, that I'm familiar with growing up in London. Barry referred a few times to the Basketball Diaries. If I was a professional podcast host, I would say I've since seen it and it's brilliant, check it out. I haven't, I intend to. It's directed by Scott Calvert. It came out in 1995. It had Leonardo DiCaprio in it. It was one of his early roles.

I remember that part. I was 25 living in New York. Anyway, we'll put that in the show notes. Oh, my testicle. It didn't really have anything to do with anything. Millie said that I need to talk about it a bit more. I'm not sure why. It speaks for itself, not literally, but just to clear up, I've had no further problems downstairs and they've resumed normal proportions where they remain, dangling or reposing happily in my trousers or shorts as applicable. Bird, the film that buries in is directed by Andrea Arnold. It's out on the 8th of November and is a rather beautiful film. It's elegiac and kind of weirdly picturesque, you know, with a kind of bittersweet aesthetic of housing estates and horses and flowers and butterflies and, but also asperity and deprivation, all of

it mixed up in a, in an Andrea Arnold cocktail. And Barry's, as you would expect, brilliant in it. Inked up, his body covered in tattoos, his impressive physique steady on Louis. And just to say this is the final episode of this run, but we'll be back in the new year with some more episodes, some more great interviews. If you want to go and listen to some old ones and watch them too, they're all visualised. Hello. I'm waving at the camera. If you've been affected by the topics discussed in this episode, Spotify do have a website for information and resources. Visit spotify.com slash resources.

Credits. The producer was Millie Chu, the assistant producer was Amelia Gill, the production manager was Francesca Bassett, and the executive producer was Aaron Fellows. The music in this series was by Miguel de Oliveira. This is a MindHouse production for Spotify.