Barry Keoghan Nearly Lost His Arm Before Shooting One Of His Most Iconic Roles
Barry Keoghan has been on an absolute tear since 2017 when he had dual breakout performances in Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" and Yorgos Lanthimos' "The Killing of a Sacred Deer." Keoghan has continued to impress in roles both big and small, in moments as fleeting as his enigmatic Joker cameo in "The Batman" or the magnetic performance in "The Banshees of Inisherin" that earned him his first Oscar nomination. Moreover, Keoghan doesn't seem moved to more commercial projects, such as Marvel's "Eternals," by the promise of a paycheck. In his profile of the actor for GQ, Alex Pappademas writes, "He's not there to pad his résumé; he actually acts." Most recently, Keoghan starred in the provocative film "Saltburn."
Nor is Keoghan discouraged by petty Hollywood grievances, or, say, a life-threatening illness. In the same piece for GQ, Pappademas noticed some scar tissue on the actor's arm that resembled a snake tattoo. The culprit, Keoghan explained, was a case of the flesh-eating disease necrotizing fasciitis, with which he was diagnosed shortly before beginning work on "The Banshees of Inisherin." The disease can lead to sepsis and organ failure and is fatal for one in five patients. Some cases require amputation. Pappademas continues, "[Keoghan] remembers saying to the doctors, But I'm not gonna die, right? and the doctors saying, Well, we don't know."
Keoghan still delivered an Oscar-worthy performance
According to "The Banshees of Inisherin" director Martin McDonagh, Barry Keoghan was undeterred by his diagnosis. In the same piece for GQ, McDonagh recalled visiting Keoghan shortly before filming began. "I'm not sure if he was on a lot of meds, but he seemed to shrug it off," the director said. "We were only about four days out from shooting, and his arm was puffed up. But he was like, 'Yeah, no, I'm going to be fine—I'll see you on Tuesday.' I went to the hospital thinking, S***—is he going to die? Let alone, is he going to make the movie. But I came out of there energized and looking forward to it."
If Keoghan was experiencing any discomfort on the set of "The Banshees of Inisherin," it's hard to tell. The film takes place on a remote Irish island in 1923. Keoghan plays Dominic, a troubled young man who has an unreciprocated crush on fellow island-dweller Siobhán (Kerry Condon).
Keoghan isn't the first actor to struggle with the disease. In 2022, "The Chronicles of Narnia" star Georgie Henley opened up about her diagnosis at age 18, which required hospitalization and extensive surgeries. "It has taken me a long time to heal both physically and mentally but I hoped that one day there would be the right time to talk about what happened," she wrote on Instagram. "Today is a start."
Keoghan, meanwhile, seemed relatively nonchalant about the whole thing. He does remember McDonagh offering some remarkably accurate prognostications at the hospital: "Just remember this when you've been nominated for an Oscar."