Page 93 - Sharp November 2024

SHIRT BY THOM BROWNE, AT HARRY ROSEN; WATCH BY OMEGA; JEWELLERY, TALENT’S OWN.
F E A T U R E
"When I first started out, I had to learn to love myself. I had to start to love my imperfections, that I’m not your typical pretty boy. But I kind of love that now — and I’ve owned it.”
IT’SGAELIC,ORIGINALLY.ORANANGLICIZEDVERSIONOFA
Gaelic name, if you’re being fussy. Most people — our current cover star included — believe it to derive from the ancient “cano,” meaning wolf cub. But others argue that Keoghan stems from “coinin,” the Irish word for rabbit. Whichever it is, both could apply to the actor.
Because this is a man with both animals inside of him. He’s got the teeth, sure, but he can also be incredibly timid at times. His career may be bounding along nicely, but he’s missed out on his fair share of plum parts, too. In Hollywood, he represents that rarest of beasts: both predator and prey; a moon-howling, spectacle-mak- ing maverick in an industry otherwise hopping with adequacy and algorithms. And yet still he bays for more. He’s bright. He’s bold. He’s big bad Barry Keoghan, and his name is here to stay — so yes, you’d better learn how to pronounce it.
“When I first started out, I had to learn to love myself,” says Keoghan (which is pronounced KYOH-gan, by the way). “I had to start to love my imperfections, that I’m not your typical pretty boy. But I kind of love that now — and I’ve owned it.”
This is wolf Keoghan. Steely and confident, he’s dialing in from Britain; this, one of his final phone calls before a digital detox in preparation for the new Peaky Blinders movie. But more on that later. For now, the bared teeth are gnashing, the Irish actor railing against the implication that he might suffer — or might have ever
suffered—fromimpostersyndrome.
“Never,” he says frankly, assuredly. “But people really do suffer
with that. And it can be so detrimental, because it doesn’t let you go for your full potential. There’s no risk. There are no bold choices.” And Keoghan values choice. He holds dear every decision there is to make and appreciates that he gets to make it. This isn’t something most of us would think about. But, as a child, Keoghan had much of his agency stripped from him. Born in Dublin in 1992, the actor was raised largely within the foster system after his mother died from a heroin overdose when he was 12 years old. His became a patchwork upbringing, one that created someone quite unique among modern celebrities. One moment, Keoghan appears fearless; unassailable. But turn a corner of conversation and his sensibilities shift. Suddenly the guard is down — the wolf gone. “You know,” he says, more softly now, “growing up how I did, I was always going to new homes and new schools and new places. So, I never really did
feel in place...or a part of something...or wanted.” A pause.
“I always felt like an outsider. But that built me up, in a sense, to prepare for this work. And this is all a bonus compared to what I’ve journeyed through. So, imposter syndrome? No, I’ve never suffered with that in acting. I’ve always felt in place.”
That feeling is impressive, because Keoghan’s roles run the
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