Saltburn star Barry Keoghan opens up about his drugs battle saying 'I'm an addict'

Daily Record

27-05-2025

The Irish actor, who also found acclaim in films such as The Banshees if Inisherin opposite Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, spoke about his own drugs experiences as well as the loss of his family members as a result of their own addictions.
Saltburn star Barry Keoghan has opened up about his drug addiction battle admitting he is considers himself an addict. The Irish actor, who also found acclaim in films such as The Banshees of Inisherin opposite Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, spoke about his own drugs experiences as well as the loss of his family members as a result of their own addictions.
He said: 'I'm not in denial anymore."
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The actor said that his "curiosity" after his family's history of addiction was "detrimental," as well as sharing where he is now in his sobriety journey.
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He opened up about his struggles with substance abuse and his family's history of addiction, which took the lives of not just his parents but several family members.
"I'm not in denial anymore. I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict," Keoghan, 32, said. "You know, when you accept that, you finally can move on, and learn to work with it."
In an interview with Hollywood Authentic he detailed growing up in Dublin as he revisited the home he and his brother, Eric, lived in following years of foster care amid their mother's struggles with addiction. Keoghan's mother, Debbie, passed away in 2003 from a heroin overdose.
"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," Keoghan said. "And we were just told to stay in bed. We weren't to go down and hug her."
He added: "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. That should be enough to go, 'OK, if I dabble here, I'm f--ked," he said.
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"Your curiosity is a powerful thing," Keoghan, who shares son, Brando, two, with ex Alyson Sandro, added ."Sometimes it's beneficial, and sometimes it's detrimental. For me, it was detrimental.
'Even my own son coming into this world didn't stop me from being curious. You know, you go to LA, you go to Hollywood, wherever the big scene is.
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'There's an enormous amount of pressure, and a different lifestyle that is good and bad for you. You're around the scene. You just happen to be the one that ends up doing it."
During the interview, Keoghan rolled up his sleeves, revealing scars on his arm.
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"I've got scars here to literally prove it. They're a result of using," he said. "I'm at peace now, and responsible for everything that I do. I'm accepting. I'm present. I'm content. I'm a father. I'm getting to just see that haze that was once there -- it's just a bit sharper now, and colourful."
Keoghan said: I feel like I've arrived. I apologise, too, mainly to myself more than anything else for all the pain I've put people and myself through."
He also credited his driver, Niall, for taking him to a rehab facility to get treatment.
"Niall literally drove me and put me on a plane himself, came with me and brought me to the rehab in England," Keoghan said, adding that he returned to the treatment centre. "It was nice to see the staff again and for them to see the change in me. They were quite emotional about it."
"I'm forever grateful. When I say that Niall is the best, I mean it, because no one else put me on the plane, by the hand, literally got on the plane with me," he added.
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