CNN —
Irish actor Barry Keoghan has hit back at “disgusting” online trolls who comment on his parenting, saying they “sicken” him and make him “furious.”
The “Saltburn” star spoke extensively about the damaging impact of online trolling in a wide-ranging interview on “The Louis Theroux Podcast” released on Tuesday. He also spoke candidly about his acting career, his time in foster homes as a child and, briefly, his relationship with singer Sabrina Carpenter.
“People kind of have a judgment on me as a parent,” said Keoghan, who shares a 2-year-old son named Brando with his ex-partner. “I’m like, well until you’ve walked a day in my shoes growing up as a kid, then you can comment… There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or the strength I have, I wouldn’t be sitting here.
“Of course it’s going to affect me being a father when I had no blueprint to take from.”
“The more in the public I’ve become, the less I’ve posted about my child, because I don’t think it’s fair to put my child online, there’s sick people out there,” he added.
“And because I’ve reined that in, people draw a narrative and go ‘absent father, sh*t deadbeat dad’ and more disgusting things that I wouldn’t even repeat. Just the audacity of some people, man, it sickens me and makes me furious.”
He spoke in a similar vein about the trolls who comment on his appearance, “especially on TikTok… people can sit there and make videos and be like ‘I don’t like his face, he looks weird, or he looks evil’ and just pick you apart.”
Keoghan, who is also known for his Oscar-nominated role in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” grew up in Dublin, Ireland, living in several different foster homes and with his grandmother as his mother was addicted to heroin. She died when he was 12, and his father died when he was 15.
“I feel it’s been publicized sort of in a pity story way,” Keoghan said. “’Oh, God bless him. His mom passed away… touring foster homes…’ That’s not what I’m looking for. If anything, I speak about it to let younger kids know that no matter where you come from, you can always achieve what you put your mind to and not to give up.”
Keoghan told Theroux that some of his childhood memories still “haunt” him. He spoke about his hopes of setting up a youth club where he grew up, giving “kids a chance” to try different activities like acting or boxing, which they wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.
Keoghan’s own acting break came when he was 15 or 16 years old and he saw an advert in a shop asking for “actors with no experience” to apply for a small role, he said. That led to bigger and bigger parts, and eventually to stardom.
A rumored relationship with singer Carpenter and an appearance in her “Please Please Please” music video propelled Keoghan to a new level of fame, though he remained coy when discussing his current relationship status with her.
“All I’m gonna say is, yeah, I’m incredibly blessed. Such a strong, independent lady who’s massively talented and yeah, very special,” he said.
