HEALTHBarry Keoghan Reveals He Could Have Died After Contracting Rare Flesh-Eating Disease
Barry Keoghan revealed he contracted a case of necrotizing fasciitis that left him brutally scarred mere days before filming The Banshees of Inisherin.
The flesh-eating disease — which can occur when bacteria enters an open wound — has between an 11% and 22% survival rate, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Barry Keoghan suffered necrotizing fasciitis that left him scarred.
During a recent interview, Keoghan recalled being told that around one in every five cases of the disease are fatal or result in amputation.
"But I’m not gonna die, right?" he remembered asking the doctor, who replied, "Well, we don't know."
The flesh-eating disease has between an 11% and 22% survival rate.
Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh shared similar fears when he saw the Eternals actor.
"I’m not sure if he was on a lot of meds, but he seemed to shrug it off," McDonagh explained to the outlet. "We were only about four days out from shooting, and his arm was puffed up."
"But he was like, 'Yeah, no, I’m going to be fine — I’ll see you on Tuesday.' I went to the hospital thinking, S---, is he going to die? Let alone, is he going to make the movie. But I came out of there energized and looking forward to it."
Keoghan welcomed his son, Brando, in August 2022.
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Keoghan beat the odds and has been making the most of his second chance at life by not only continuing to star in award-winning films, but he is also savoring every moment of being a new father to his 1-year-old son, Brando, who he welcomed with girlfriend Alyson Kierans in August 2022 while filming Saltburn.
"They gave me a day off," he clarified of his son's birth. "Good on them! Day off, and straight on to night shoots and night feedings—boom! It was probably the best time of my life, to be quite fair. Havin’ a baby boy, and leadin’ a movie. It was the best time of my life, I must say—yeah."
Keoghan said he feels 'an enormous amount of pressure' as a father and can't get his son off of his mind.
"I feel a responsibility. I feel an enormous amount of pressure, which is good. And I can’t get the little boy off my mind. It’s beautiful," he gushed. "Y’know, it’s crazy, but when he looks at you, you feel like the most important person in the world. That’s the effect he has on me. He smiles at you and you’re like, 'Wow. You’re smiling at me like that? I don’t deserve that, but anyways, thanks.'"
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As for how the 31-year-old came up with the unique name, Keoghan replied, "I obviously love Marlon Brando, but I just, yeah—for a first name I thought it was quite cool."
"To have Brando in your name— f-----' h--, man! He’s got a lot to live up to, that kid," the Batman star said with a grin. "But he’ll live up to it. He has to have that leather jacket and that rock-star attitude, you know what I mean? He’ll have a motorbike when he’s 12, I think."
Keoghan and McDonagh spoke with GQ about the actor's nearly fatal illness.
