Barry Keoghan Confronts His Addiction Struggles and Reclaims His Life

Saltburn star Barry Keoghan has opened up about his struggles with addiction after losing both of his parents at a young age to their demons.

Keoghan, 32, didn’t specify what habit had him hooked, but he says, “I’m not in denial anymore. 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.”

The Dublin-born Dunkirk star was just 12 when his mother suffered a fatal heroin overdose.

Keoghan and his brother spent part of their childhood living with relatives, and he recalls “hearing my mum scream through the letterbox, asking for us, while she’s battling addiction, while she’s looking for money to score. And we were just told to stay in bed. We weren’t to go down and hug her.”

The actor shares, “My father passed away as a result of similar. I’ve lost two uncles and a cousin to drugs. That should be enough to go, ‘OK, if I dabble here, I’m f**ked.’”

But, he confides, “Your curiosity is a powerful thing. Sometimes it’s beneficial, and sometimes it’s detrimental. For me, it was detrimental.”

Keoghan cites the “enormous amount of pressure” in the Hollywood scene and acknowledges even the August 2022 arrival of his son, Brando — with ex-girlfriend Alyson Sandro — “didn’t stop me from being curious.”

The recovering addict swears he’s righted his ship — even as he bears physical scars from injuries sustained while impaired.

“I’m at peace now, and responsible for everything that I do,” Keoghan claims. “I’m accepting. I’m present. I’m content. I’m a father. I’m getting to just see that haze that was once there — it’s just a bit sharper now, and colorful.”