In Bird, Barry Keoghan plays the young father of a 12-year-old daughter. The film follows Bailey (Nykiya Adams) as she becomes an adolescent in Kent, England, surrounded by violence and poverty.
Keoghan’s character has been nicknamed Bug, presumably after his numerous insect tattoos, including a multi-legged creature on his face. He is a loving parent, although he is often misled by his own attempts to make money, including a scheme to irritate a frog so much that it produces psychedelic poison that he can sell.
Keoghan told Yahoo Entertainment that, as a father himself, he can relate to Bug’s sometimes “selfish” nature.
“When you have a child… it’s a big moment. You can get in yourself and go through this place where you almost feel like you’re outside,” he said. “Your child does not want to be connected to you, because that is when a child really wants his mother.”
Like Bug, he had the experience of “not feeling important” to his child and feeling more like a sibling rather than “going the extra mile and having responsibility and leadership.”
He credits director Andrea Arnold for letting him go to a “comfortable place” where he could confront his feelings about fatherhood.
“[My son] Brando, he’s two, and he’s not talking to me [Adams] do. But he will. He’s already trying to do that,” Keoghan said. “But like Bug, I don’t have the experience to draw from, like the things your father shows you or what your mother shows you. I now talk about this very openly, and I am not ashamed of it.”
“Instead, my grandmother played the role of two,” he explained. “[Arnold] allowed me to be that person.”
Keoghan’s mother died of a heroin overdose when he was twelve, and several members of his family had substance abuse disorders. He spent seven years in foster care before being taken in by his grandmother.
After seeing Arnold’s 2009 film Fish tank, which follows a teenage girl living in public housing in Britain, Keoghan Arnold added to a list of directors he wanted to work with. When she asked him to ‘meet for fish and chips’ in London and spoke to him about the role, he said yes before he’d even seen a script.
“Since I was about sixteen or seventeen, I always thought: Andrea Arnold! Andrea Arnold! Andrea Arnold!’ I brought it to life,” Keoghan said.
Franz Rogowski in ‘Bird’. (MUBI/Courtesy Everett Collection)
His co-star Franz Rogowski, who plays a crotchety traveler named Bird who befriends Bailey, shared a similar sentiment.
“It was an easy decision because there was no script, so I couldn’t read something I didn’t like,” he told Yahoo Entertainment. “But there was a yes to an adventure, to something uncertain, something undefined, where I didn’t have to prepare to become anything, but just bring myself to it and surrender.”
Even Adams, who landed the lead role in the film after showing up at an open audition at her school because she wanted to get out of class, took a leap of faith. Even though it’s her first film role, Keoghan couldn’t praise her enough.
“To be put in front of the camera like that when you’re going through puberty… in general it’s very difficult to show your feelings and speak when there are no microphones and cameras around,” he said. “So adding all those layers and being able to do that, I have a tremendous amount of respect.”
Barry Keoghan and Nykiya Adams in ‘Bird’. (MUBI/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Keoghan knows a thing or two about having a breakout moment. He received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in 2023 The Banshees of Inisherin and a Golden Globe nod in 2024 for the lead role Salt burn. He also starred in his girlfriend Sabrina Carpenter’s viral music video “Please Please Please”.
He said that “recognition is great,” but he tries not to “get too fixated.”
“[If people] recognize my work, brilliant! I am very grateful for… the platform to bring people on a journey,” he said. “And, selfishly, to show my range in a way that can bring these characters to life.”
As for what he will do next, Keoghan said: “Less is best.”
“I’m figuring out how growing as a person and focusing on your well-being and mental state is beneficial for you and your profession,” he said. “Especially right now, I have a huge bond with my young boy and choose roles that I’m excited about. I am in a very nice place.”
Bird is in theaters now.
