For Barry Keoghan, growing older has helped him understand his own.
In a new video for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Irish actor, 32, discussed the state of children’s social care, drawing on his experience growing up in the foster care system – and, more recently, on his experience as a father to a 2-year-old son, Brando.
After British Foreign Secretary David Lammy pointed out that, combined with the death of his mother, his time in the system must have weighed on him “very heavily,” the actor admitted that “it does.” Keoghan had lived in thirteen different foster homes before moving in with his grandmother.
“As I got older and had my own son,” he said. “I realized it was such a hard job for her and, you know, for her and my dad. And fortunately there was a good healthcare system there, which is extremely important.”
Keoghan, who shares Brando with ex-girlfriend Alyson Sandro, further told the British politician that he wants to work with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to “change” the state of children’s social care because “you can use your profile and your platform to shine a light on things.”
“Anything to do with children and healthcare, I always want to help,” Keoghan continued. “And shine a light on it and draw attention to it.”
The Oscar-nominated actor has previously opened up about his childhood, including his mother Debbie, who struggled with addiction and died when he was 12.
Speak with GQ in January 2024, the Salt burn Star said he still feels “an enormous loneliness” despite the fame and success he has experienced since becoming an actor. When asked what he thinks about during these periods of loneliness, Keoghan said, “When I’m isolated? My mother, of course.”
“My mother, always,” he continued. “Many years have passed now, but I still think of her all the time. It’s always only in and around performance that it really comes to the fore – because you like to celebrate that with’ ‘er, you know?”
The GQ The article also noted that Debbie “wasn’t really in his life” before she died, with Keoghan saying, “She was battling with a lot of things.”
The Dublin native also told the magazine that he feels his story is not unique among those growing up in the Irish city. ‘Dublin 1, we call it, the postcode is 1. It is a real city centre. It’s the heart, man,” he said at the time. “And you know, every downtown has its problems and faces its struggles. Everyone experiences more or less the same things.”
Barry Keoghan/Instagram
When it comes to fatherhood, Keoghan occasionally shares a rare tidbit about fatherhood with Brando, who he welcomed with Sandro in August 2022.
In addition to the occasional milestone (like the toddler’s first words) and a lookalike selfie with the 2-year-old, the actor has also opened up about his life as a dad — including his response to accusations that he’s a “silly dad” in late 2024 ‘ is. .
While it appears on The Louis Theroux Podcasthe explained that he is “not an absent father,” which he said he was accused of when he started posting fewer photos of Brando online.
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“People like to use my son as ammunition or whatever, and it kind of makes me want to quit [posting him]. The more attention I’ve gotten lately and the more 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,” he said at the time.
“Because I had that in my hand, people pull a story and say, ‘Absent father, s—, worthless father,’ and other disgusting things that I wouldn’t even repeat,” he continued. “Just the brutality of some people, man, it makes me sick. It makes me furious.”
“I’m not going to give them more material,” he added, noting that “they don’t deserve it.”