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Barry Keoghan has spoken openly about his experiences with fatherhood.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, The 31-year-old actor spoke about his upcoming role in director Andrea Arnold's film. Birdin which he plays single dad Bug. Speaking to the outlet on Sept. 13, Keoghan explained that he drew inspiration from his own real-life experiences, both as a child and as a current father, during the film.
“I’ll just say this: I didn’t have a father figure growing up, so even my relationship with my son is not exactly the normal father-son relationship because I don’t have that figure to draw from and base my experiences on,” he said. Salt burn the star said at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
“Love doesn’t need anything to be taken advantage of. Love is pure, so I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about little things like teaching your son this or teaching your daughter that,” Keoghan said.
He Ordinance The actor went on to explain how his character's relationship with his 12-year-old daughter, Bailey, played by Nykiya Adams, felt more like that of siblings than father and daughter.
“Coming into this, I didn't have that [normal experience]so it's kind of like sibling chemistry. [for Bug and Bailey]“I thought it was the right thing to do,” she said. “And these days, there are a lot of young mothers and fathers and they’re almost like siblings, you know what I mean? Which is beautiful.”
Keoghan admitted that because his on-screen daughter and real-life son are 10 years apart, there were times when he didn’t know how to play the role. “For me, the experience of playing a father was… obviously I’m a father, but at that age, she’s 12 in the movie, and I wondered what I would draw on to play that,” he added.
The Irish actor has a two-year-old son, Brando, with ex-girlfriend Alyson Sandro. The former couple welcomed their son while Keoghan was filming the Emerald Fennell movie. Salt burn in 2022. In an interview with GQHe revealed that he was allowed a day off when Brando was born. “They gave me a day off,” he laughed. “Good for them! Day off and straight into night shoots and night shoots, boom!”
“It was probably the best time of my life, to be honest. I had a baby and I was in a movie. It was the best time of my life, I have to say, yeah,” Keoghan said, before describing Sandro as “an amazing mother.”
While he maintained that becoming a father hasn’t changed him, Keoghan explained that it has affected the choices he makes now in his career. “I feel a responsibility. I feel an enormous pressure, which is good,” he said. “And I can’t get the kid out of my head. He’s beautiful. You know, it’s crazy, but when he looks at you, you feel like the most important person in the world. That’s the effect he has on me. He smiles at you and you think, ‘Wow. You’re smiling at me like that? I don’t deserve it, but thank you anyway. ’”
Last month, Keoghan shared a rare selfie with his son on Instagram, which showed the father and son playing with toys at a table. Brando looked into the camera, his blue eyes and rosy cheeks on display, as Keoghan took the selfie.
She also shared her thoughts on her son's budding personality, writing in the caption: “He's more charming than me. Our little Brando.”
