Barry Keoghan was just as shocked by the Saltburn script as many viewers were by the final film. “Some of it is jaw-dropping when you read it,” he tells W’s editor-at-large, Lynn Hirschberg. “It’s a bit out there. But it was the kind of part I was looking for to step up as an actor.” The movie, written and directed by Emerald Fennell, follows Keoghan’s Oliver, a student on scholarship at Oxford University who, upon being invited to summer at the estate of his upper-crust classmate slash crush, Felix (Jacob Elordi), finds himself quickly entangled with Felix’s eccentric family—all while Felix, the object of his affection, remains just out of grasp. The role marks Keoghan’s first turn as a leading man and earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best actor. Beyond winning praise from the critics, the 31-year-old Irish star has become the Internet’s obsession, with social media users shamelessly fawning over his chemistry with Elordi, both on-screen and off-.
Saltburn is set in a British castlelike mansion. Did you shoot in an actual castlelike mansion?
Yes. I think there were 48 or 49 rooms. I got lost every day. And they built a maze in the garden. The crew would get lost in it, which was funny. Rosamund [Pike] was living there. I was living close by. I don’t think I’d be able to live there, to be honest with you. Too much for me there—a bit too expensive.
What was the first acting job that you booked?
A movie called ’71. Then it all started coming in. I didn’t have a phone at that time, so they would ring my granny’s phone. She’d be like, “Who is this? Stop ringing us!” And I’m like, “It’s a director!” I quickly got an agent. It all fell into place.
Many people became obsessed with you after your performance in Yorgos Lanthimos’s film The Killing of a Sacred Deer. You were fascinating and quite scary. The spaghetti scene is now a meme.
People see me and say, “There’s that freaky kid-man. Watch him eat spaghetti!” It gets weird.
Who is your cinematic crush?
Marilyn Monroe. I’ve got a type, and it is Marilyn Monroe.
Did you have posters on your wall when you were growing up?
Yes, I had a poster of the Hollywood sign on my wall.
Keoghan wears a Loewe sweater; his own necklace.
What film makes you cry?
The Basketball Diaries—Jim Carroll’s story. That and Cool Hand Luke are my two favorite movies, but Cool Hand Luke doesn’t make me cry.
Have you tried to do the egg scene in Cool Hand Luke, when Paul Newman eats 50 eggs?
He does it so cool! Once, when I was drunk, I made it to eight eggs. It didn’t go down well. I got sick everywhere!
Senior Style Editor: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Senior Fashion Market Editor and Menswear Director: Jenna Wojciechowski. Hair for portfolio by Mustafa Yanaz for Dyson at Art+Commerce; makeup for portfolio by Emi Kaneko for Tom Ford at Bryant Artists; manicures for portfolio by Michelle Saunders for Chanel. Set design by Peter Klein at Frank Reps. Special thanks to Ms. Bebe at Outfitters Wig Shop in Hollywood.
Produced by Connect the Dots; Executive Producer: Wes Olson; Producer: Zack Higginbottom; Production manager: Nicole Morra; Production coordinator: David Cahill; First photography assistant: Trevor Pikhart; Second photography assistant: Jeremy Eric Sinclair; Digital Technician: Brendan Pattengale; Postproduction by Lucas Rios Palazesi at Quickfix; Fashion assistants: Tori López, Tyler VanVranken, Molly Cody, India Reed, John Celaya, Kaamilah Thomas, Emily Cancelosi, Allie Kessler, Juliana Bassi, Karla Garcia, Jacqueline Chen, Cosima Croquet; Production assistants: Mateo Calvo, Aspen Miller, Nico Robledo, Griffin Koerner, Danielle Rouleau, Nicolo Battaglini, Juanes Montoya, Juan Calvo, Lily Cordingley, Nathan Gallie, Cameron Hoge, Jack Fahey, Cole Ewing, Karlie Ofstedahl; Hair assistants: Takao Hayashi, Andres Copeland; Makeup assistants: Amelia Berger, Willie Huang; Manicure assistants: Rachel Messick, Marissa Asprer; Set assistants: Christopher Crash Richard, Winston Willingham; Tailors: Irina Tshartaryan, Elma Click, Gayane Mnatsakanyan at Susie’s Custom Designs, Inc.