Actor Barry Keoghan Says Online "Abuse" Has "Become a Problem" in His Career - "You Don't Want to Even Be on Screen Anymore"
Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Barry Keoghan has proven himself as an incredible actor, with roles in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Banshees of Inisherin, Saltburn, Eternals, that scene at the end of The Batman, which he is rumored to be returning to, and his transformation into Ringo Star in the upcoming Beatles biopic films.
At just 33 years old, Keoghan has cemented his place in Hollywood, working with some of the biggest filmmakers and churning out one great performance after another. But the actor says the spotlight has been a difficult place for him.
After exiting social media in 2024, the actor recently got candid about the toll online abuse has taken on his career, telling SiriusXM’s Hits 1 in an interview that social media “hate” about his looks is “becoming a problem” for his desire to take onscreen roles, making him “shy away” from the public eye.
“I’ve been blessed that I’ve got an incredible fan base, and people are so lovely out there. It’s really nice when you do Q&As and you talk to people and you can be there with them and answer their questions and give them all of you. And that is the good side of it.
“But there’s also a nasty side of it. And I’ve removed myself from online, but I’m still a curious human being that wants to go on. And if I attend an event or if I go somewhere, you want to see how it was received. And it’s not nice, you know?”
“There’s a lot of hate online. There’s a lot of abuse of how I look, and it’s kind of past the point of — you know, ‘Everyone goes through that.’ And everyone does, but it’s made me shy away. It’s made me really go inside myself, not want to attend places, not want to go outside. And I say this being absolute pure and honest to you. It’s becoming a problem.”
The actor said he’s been “hiding away” over the abuse. “I actually don’t go to places because of these things,” Keoghan noted, “But when that starts leaking into your art, it becomes a problem, because then you don’t want to even be on screen anymore,” he said,
He added: “It is disappointing for the fans, but it’s also disappointing that my little boy has to read all of this stuff when he gets older.”
I truly do not understand the hate around Barry Keoghan’s looks. I find him very attractive, charismatic and talented, and while not every actor is going to be your cup of tea, their looks alone do not reflect their ability to portray characters on screen, and it’s really crappy that people are bullies and call others out for the way they look.
Hopefully the actor is able to stay away from the negativity and continue to do what he does best, but I also wish people could just stop being so unkind.
Keoghan’s latest, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, debuted this weekend on Netflix, and the actor has recently been filming The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, along with Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn.
Next, he’s set to star in Kantemir Balagov’s Butterfly Jam with Riley Keough and Harry Melling.
via: Deadline