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Barry Keoghan, the 32-year-old Irish actor, revealed in a candid Hollywood Authentic interview that he is an “addict,” confronting his struggles shaped by a childhood marked by his mother’s heroin addiction and loss.
Keoghan’s mother died when he was 12 due to her heroin addiction, leaving him and his brother to navigate multiple foster homes around Dublin.
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Reflecting on his childhood, Keoghan shared a haunting memory of visiting one of his childhood homes, recalling, “I remember being kids here and hearing my mum scream through the letterbox, asking for us, while she’s battling addiction, while she’s looking for money to score.”
He described being instructed to stay in bed during those moments, unable to go down and hug his mother as she struggled.
Keoghan admitted that his “curiosity” about substances led him down a dangerous path, despite the devastating impact of addiction on his family.
He disclosed, “My father passed away as a result of similar and I lost my mum to it. I’ve lost two uncles and a cousin to drugs,” highlighting the hereditary weight of addiction.
Despite these losses, Keoghan confessed, “That should be enough to go, ‘OK, if I dabble here, I’m fucked.’ But your curiosity is a powerful thing.”
He acknowledged that even the birth of his two-year-old son, Brando, with ex-partner Alyson in August 2022, didn’t curb his curiosity about substances.
In a moment of raw honesty, Keoghan declared, “I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict,” signaling a turning point in his journey.
He emphasized his progress, stating, “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.”
Keoghan has consistently been open about his challenging upbringing, discussing its lasting effects in various interviews.
On James Corden’s This Life of Mine podcast, he explained how the foster care system impacted him, saying, “I had a lot of problems with trust, never trusted love, never trusted that someone wanted to know me, or, let’s say, be a friend, for instance.”
The Saltburn star’s vulnerability about his addiction and childhood trauma underscores his ongoing journey toward healing and self-awareness.
