Barry Keoghan is stepping into the light—and getting real about the darkness that nearly consumed him.
The 32-year-old actor, known for scene-stealing roles in The Banshees of Inisherin, Saltburn, The Batman, and Eternals, is now speaking candidly about his struggle with drug addiction. In a raw new profile for Hollywood Authentic, Keoghan shared that his battle with substance abuse intensified just as his Hollywood star began to rise in the early 2020s.
“I’m not in denial anymore,” Keoghan told the outlet. “I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict. You know, when you accept that, you finally can move on and learn to work with it.”
It’s a vulnerable admission from an actor who’s largely kept his personal life close to the chest—especially following a 2021 arrest for public intoxication in Dublin, where he was released without charges and issued a fine.
Keoghan, who earned an Oscar nomination for The Banshees of Inisherin, also looked back on a childhood marked by instability. After losing his mother, Debbie, to drug addiction at age 12, he and his brother bounced through foster care before settling with their grandmother. He added that his father, two uncles, and a cousin also died due to drug-related causes, and his brother recently sought treatment as well.
“That should be enough to go, ‘Ok, if I dabble here, I’m f—ed,’” Keoghan said. “But your curiosity is a powerful thing.”
That curiosity—and the high-octane environment of fame—only grew more dangerous after his breakout in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. The Hollywood spotlight brought success, sure, but also what Keoghan described as “an enormous amount of pressure.”
Even the birth of his son Brando in 2022 wasn’t an instant fix. Keoghan admitted he was still struggling post-fatherhood, and in 2023, he and Brando’s mother, Alyson Kierans, split. The actor later made headlines again for a brief romance with singer Sabrina Carpenter in 2024—followed by a messy public breakup that sent Keoghan offline amid cheating rumors. He pushed back hard before vanishing from social media, calling out the “absolute lies, hatred, [and] disgusting commentary” he’d received on Instagram.
The profile didn’t shy away from physical reminders of Keoghan’s past either. He revealed a large scar tracing his right arm—one of several he attributes to his time battling addiction.
While Keoghan didn’t go into specifics about his recovery or any formal treatment, he made it clear he’s in a different headspace now.
“I’m at peace,” he said. “I’ve apologized—mainly to myself more than anything else for all the pain I’ve put people and myself through.
“[I’m] responsible for everything I do,” he added. “I‘m accepting. I’m present. I’m a father. I’m getting to just see that haze that was once there—it’s a bit sharper now, and colorful.”