Barry Keoghan shared some deep thoughts with Entertainment Weekly in an up-close and personal interview. The actor played an intense role in Andrea Arnold’s Bird, which explores the fraught relationship between 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) and her single father, Bug (Keoghan).
Keoghan revealed that he drew inspiration for his on-screen character from his own life. “I’ll just say this — I didn’t have a father figure growing up, so even my relationship with my son isn’t quite like a typical father-son relationship,” he told EW at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
Keoghan welcomed his first child, Brando, in August 2022 with his ex-girlfriend Alyson Sandro. He also admitted that, since he did not have a father figure to look up to, he felt unfamiliar with portraying the role of a father on screen.
The Saltburn alum further noted that, in his view, love does not need an outlet to be drawn from or inspired by; love is pure and natural. However, his parenting style aligns more with “teaching your son this or teaching your daughter that,”
He also revealed that in Bird, the film showcases a brother-sister like dynamic between the characters Bug and Bailey, which he felt was fitting for them. Since Barry did not have a traditional father-son experience growing up, he believed this approach best represented their relationship.
Barry also mentioned that, for many young parents today, the brother-sister analogy resonates well and seems appropriate for modern audiences.
Keoghan revealed that Bird was shot in chronological order, and he only knew what was happening in his own scenes. “We didn’t get to see the movie at all,” he said. He only received his scenes a day or two before filming.
As a result, when he saw the film at the 2024 Cannes Festival, he did not know the full story. However, he was overjoyed when it received a seven-minute standing ovation, according to Evoke.
The film is set to hit Irish cinemas on Friday, November 8, 2024. Will it be another Oscar-worthy film? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.
