Barry’s killing it
Keoghan living ‘very different life’ to the rest of Love/hate cast
FORMER Love/hate star Peter Coonan said Barry Keoghan is living a “very different life” away from his cat killer days.
The gritty gangland drama blew up on our screens in 2010 and starred Coonan, Tom Vaughan-lawlor and Keoghan as members of organised crime gangs in Dublin.
And Peter said the show still is one of the most talked about projects he was part of.
He added: “I text him [Barry] every now and again. He is living a very different life. I send him texts of encouragement to tell him how proud everyone is of him.
“One Irishman will win this awards season. All of them are doing incredible work. For younger actors coming through, what great role models to look up to.”
Speaking about Love/hate, he said the show is still “ever present”, adding: “It is bizarre. I am not [on] Tiktok or Instagram, but from when lockdown began in 2020 Love/hate was ever present. It was on RTE and RTE Player all the time.
“Whenever I went into a shop, I had 20 or 21 year olds saying, ‘I watched you in that thing, it was deadly’.
“The show is being passed on through the generations, so it still has a shelf life, which is great.
“That is a testament to Stuart Carolan’s writing, that it has lasted
this long. It reminded me of when we were younger, and The Wire came out. We were handed a season bit by bit by someone’s older brother.”
But the Dubliner admitted he had “no idea” how popular the show would become.
He added: “We had no clue. I knew when I read the first audition piece for Fran that there was something unique about it. I got into the character so quickly. It was so well written that work was already done on the script.
“Everyone believed in it and there was incredible energy around it. Nothing like that had happened in Ireland for so long, not since The Riordans or Glenroe.”
Peter is set to star in King Frankie, which tells the story of Dublin taxi driver Frank Burke whose past catches up with him following the death of his father.
Opening up about the drama, Peter said: “It is a story about someone who at one point in their life was caught up with greed and success and the perception that people have.
“You get caught up chasing a certain dream within the environment which was at a time in Ireland when things were booming, and our economy was thriving. Through that is the way we convince ourselves that certain things are morally OK to do to get by.
“You stamp or trudge over people that matter the most.
“Tragedy occurs in this story, and you are left with all of the mistakes you made.”
I send Barry texts of encouragement to tell him how proud we are of him PETER COONAN YESTERDAY