Barry Keoghan on His ‘Very, Very Personal’ New Film

“You want to know which Beatle I play, huh?” Barry Keoghan says. We’ve been talking, over Zoom, about his latest film, Lemonade, which premiered last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, but as our time ticks down, I’m hoping to ask him about the full-time job he’ll return to after this rare day off—shooting four Beatles movies directed by Sam Mendes. When I suggest to Keoghan that we know he’s playing Ringo, his response is mysterious and mischievous: “Do you, though?”The 33-year-old actor’s disposition is notably upbeat, even as we discuss Lemonade, a devastating independent drama about the foster care system in Ireland. Keoghan executive-produced the film, directed by Kim Bartley, through his Wolfcub Productions shingle; it’s a deeply personal project for the actor, who was raised in foster care himself.Lewis Brophy plays protagonist Danny, an 18-year-old aging out of the foster care system; Keoghan plays Danny’s former social worker, who re-enters his life and attempts to mentor him. For the role, Keoghan found himself tapping into his own memories of the social workers who shaped his experience in foster care: “I was just digging deep,” he says, “because I remember them being very gentle and caring figures to me when I didn't have those parental figures around.”GQ: I'm so happy to be speaking with you about this film, which I understand is very personal for you.Barry Keoghan: It's a very, very personal story. With Lewis Brophy, the connection with Lewis is, he's from the area that I'm from, but the way I started acting was, I seen a notice in the shop window. I've always spoke about this. And funny enough, that shop window is Lewis's auntie's shop window. So it's quite a full circle moment to be honest.A lot of the cast and crew, including you, have spent time in the foster care system. If you’re comfortable talking about it, were there particular parts of this story that resonated with your experiences?I've touched on it before and I’m quite open about it. But yeah, those parts of the script and moments in the script, especially the moments when Lewis's character is his younger self [in flashbacks], and he's in the back seat. And one thing that really resonated with me and really got me was I remember those car journeys of being in the back [myself], and social workers bringing me to the new home or back to the office to ‘rehouse’, if you use that term. I always remember the stickers on the back window and having a Pink Panther teddy with me and always looking up at the moon. And obviously I didn't know it was cliché then or a common phrase, but “your moon is my moon” was the kind of thing that was drilled into me.So there's moments like that—just even looking back in the car seat and back in that scene and being beside him, it really got me. And there was moments that was very, very surreal and just gave me a lot to draw from. And it was nice to embody the incredible social workers I had. Mary Payne, God rest her soul, from Daughters of Charity, and I had a social worker called William and a social worker called Liz. And to embody all of those [people] and give back in that way—I was just digging deep because I remember them being very gentle and caring figures to me when I didn't have those parental figures around. They definitely were that for me.What was the most important message that you wanted to convey? Were there any misconceptions about the foster care system that you wanted to correct?No, there wasn't misconceptions at all, and it's not on me to be there and correct it, because it's obviously changed. And my experience in the foster system was that I had incredible people step in and people that are responsible [for] why I'm here and I'm in this place. And it's such a brave and incredible thing to do, become a foster parent. And it's something I've always thought about as well—how much you can affect and push someone's life and anchor them as well.Lewis Brophy and Carla Tous in Lemonade.Shane O'Connor/Courtesy of Lemonade FilmsBut it was just important because [with] Wolfcub Productions, a production company I started with my friend Dessie Byrne, I want to follow the path of Element Pictures and Lucky Chap and work with new directors and new writers and have a place where we can take on scripts. And Kim's [script] was one of those. And it felt right. I loved Kim's work beforehand and I knew her, so it did feel really right and it was very personal, so I just wanted to put my own production company on it and executive-produce it as well and have a participant [role] in it.From Yorgos Lanthimos’s Killing of a Sacred Deer to Banshees of Inisherin to Saltburn, you’ve played a lot of youthful characters. Was it interesting to play a role where you’re the mentor figure?Yeah. It was a hundred percent a more mature role that I've played this far, and I kind of liked it. There was a delicacy to it. There's such a caring manner. And as I said, the social workers I've had, William and Liz, and Mary Payne, they've all been absolutely so…these are incredible humans that put the children before them, before anything in their life and are quite cautious and aware of how things can affect kids and meaning emotions or behaviors.Could you speak a little bit more about your relationship with Lewis and that bond?Yeah. Lewis is lovely. Such a great little boxer, as well. He's an incredible kid with such massive amounts of curiosity [about] the art and to the craft. And honestly, I’m in awe of when he's on set, and I'm always looking and trying to understand why he made certain choices. And I think I gather that from older actors I've worked with, like Mark Rylance and stuff, when they used to observe us younger actors on Dunkirk and what choices we were making—because it does inspire me massively to see actors and actresses make choices from places that it just leaves you wondering, that's not trained and not predictable. And again, he's a great kid and very, very well-mannered lad and looks after everyone on set.When you're looking for projects that you want to produce with Wolfcub, what are the kinds of things that you've been looking for besides Lemonade?[There are] a ton of people I'd love to work with and that inspire me. And I'm looking to see what stories come across. Again, I want to have a template like Lucky Chap, Element Pictures or A24 and Neon, these houses that [make] incredible movies across the board and [have an] incredible range of filmmakers and writers. And I'm still very young, but my taste is similar to how I choose movies and how I choose projects for my production company; it's going to be very selective. But I just want bold—I want a space for new filmmakers, first time filmmakers, people with a voice and that want to say something. And it's one of those places that I'm looking to just keep expanding.You couldn’t be at TIFF for Lemonade’s premiere because you're in the middle of filming the Beatles movies with Sam Mendes. Obviously everyone wants to know…Which Beatle I play? Huh? Which Beatle I play?Well, that I know…Do you, though? Hey.I mean…what do you mean?Listen, we're filming. We’re still filming. What a grateful… and I truly, truly mean this when I say this, but it's an experience that I wish and don't want to end, because it's just been such a joy working with everyone, and also gaining some really close people and friends and also learning more about my craft, getting to work alongside Sam Mendes and watching him, how he moves and when he's locked in. And then also getting to work with [cinematographer] Greig Fraser and learning more about the camera, and the Super 8 stuff that I'm doing as well on set, which is so incredible. It's just a playground. It's a playground, of watching the master classes across the board in every department.Is there a specific era that you guys have filmed or are going to film that is particularly resonant to you or that you're a fan of?All the years.Okay. One more thing I need to know: have you gotten used to your new hair?Yeah. I mean, I always had long hair as a kid and as a teenager, even up until in my early 20s. [But now] I've got loads of it. It's crazy. I want to keep it at this length and see what opens the doors. And you can get used to someone with the same haircut or whatever, so I want to really change it up.