“He Looked Me in the Eye and Said Nothing”—Barry Keoghan Exposes the Silent Power of Cillian Murphy On Set

Barry Keoghan has long been hailed as one of the most captivating actors of his generation, with breakout roles in Dunkirk, The Batman, and Saltburn. But as he steps into the highly anticipated Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man, Keoghan is entering a new chapter—one shaped by collaboration, transformation, and confronting the echoes of his past.

In an interview with The Mirror, the 32-year-old Irish actor revealed what it was really like to share the screen with Cillian Murphy, the legendary face of Peaky Blinders. “There is no slacking for him,” Keoghan said. “It’s not in an intimidating way. He has an athlete’s approach. Cillian is such a legend. He doesn’t say anything, but you feel it.” That quiet intensity, Keoghan noted, was impossible to ignore. When he first stepped into his costume, Murphy’s reaction wasn’t judgment—it was joy. “He was more excited to see me in my costume. He was like, ‘Ah man, look at you.’”

The Immortal Man, set to transport the Shelby family into the chaos of World War II, has been billed as a final tribute to the iconic series. Alongside Murphy and Keoghan, the film features Rebecca Ferguson and Stephen Graham—names that promise a powerful ensemble worthy of closing the Peaky chapter.

But Barry Keoghan’s schedule is far from slowing down. With the world watching, he’s preparing for one of the most ambitious projects in modern cinema: portraying Ringo Starr in a series of four biopics about The Beatles, scheduled for release in 2028. Meeting Ringo in real life left Keoghan awestruck. “I couldn’t even look at him,” he admitted. “But he was like, ‘You can look at me.’” The two ended up sitting in a garden, talking easily—one legend in the making, and one already etched into music history.

To fully inhabit the role of the iconic drummer, Keoghan is entering a grueling 15-month filming schedule. But with it comes sacrifice. A lifelong boxer, he’s been forced to hang up the gloves—at least temporarily. “The producers will kill me if I break my hand,” he joked, aware that every moment he spends on set depends on his ability to hold the beat behind the drums.

Yet behind the accolades and upcoming blockbuster roles lies a past that still pulses beneath the surface. Keoghan’s childhood was marred by loss and addiction. His mother, struggling with heroin, died when he was just 12. Raised in foster care and later by his grandmother, he’s candid about the ripple effects that tragedy has left on his life. In a revealing conversation with Hollywood Authentic, Keoghan recalled discovering one of his late mother’s diaries. In a chilling passage, she wrote: “Well, tonight went okay for me so I hope I have the strength to not touch anything tomorrow.”

That line has stayed with him. During a recent Christmas, he sent a photo of the diary to his brother, who was then in rehab. “I said, ‘Just look at that. You’ve got a chance now.’ You can feel the pain in this,” he shared.

Keoghan’s family history is steeped in addiction and loss—his father, uncles, and cousin all claimed by drugs. “I’m not in denial anymore,” he said. “I understand that I do have an addiction, and I am an addict. When you accept that, you finally can move on, and learn to work with it.”

And maybe that’s why his roles feel so lived-in, so visceral. Whether it’s the quiet ferocity of a Peaky Blinder or the vulnerability of Ringo Starr, Barry Keoghan brings with him not just talent—but the kind of soul that’s been broken, rebuilt, and still finds strength in its scars.