IRISH MOVIE CANNES SHAKE UP THE OSCARS
Colin & Barry film tipped for gong
A FILM starring Colin Farrell and Love/hate cat killer Barry Keoghan is the latest Irish movie to be tipped for Oscar glory. The Killing Of A Sacred Deer has been the centre of industry buzz after it jointly won Best Screenplay at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. It tells the story of worried parents, played by Hollywood stars Farrell and Nicole Kidman, whose kids’ lives are put in grave danger by an obsessive youngster portrayed by Keoghan. The thriller is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek film-maker behind Academy Award-nominated fantasy The Lobster, which also starred 40-year-old Farrell. It was produced by Dublin-based Element Pictures, which was behind award-winning films including Room and The Wind That Shakes The Barley. The movie is 24-year-old Keoghan’s biggest role yet since getting his break in the fourth season of Love/hate in 2013 as teenage gangster Wayne. Keoghan, from Summerhill in Dublin’s north inner city, shot to fame after his character gunned down a cat in what became one of the most controversial scenes in the hit RTE series. Earlier this month, Keoghan, who is also lined up to star alongside Cillian Murphy and Harry Styles in war epic Dunkirk, was dubbed Hollywood’s Next Big Thing by The Hollywood Reporter. Speaking to the publication, Keoghan revealed he uses his upbringing as inspiration for his roles. He said: “I try to use that history that I have. I have a different story to tell. “I call it the real Dublin. It’s been a big part of everything to me.” The rising star also told the movie magazine how he and his brother spent five years in foster care after their mother became addicted to drugs. He added: “Heroin came into Dublin and it caught every family. My mother was one of the unlucky ones. She got caught on it then she passed away.” Keoghan was raised by his grandmother and admitted she keeps him grounded now he’s a successful actor. He said: “She’s a tough one. I’ll come home off a film set where I’m getting pampered, and I’ll get a slap on the head if I don’t make my bed. That’s what I love about her.” The actor previously joked he will “never get away” from the cat-killing character in Love/hate. He added: “I was in the Metlife stadium in New Jersey about two years ago. I think there was about 90,000 people there and someone pulled me and said, ‘You’re the guy that shot the cat’. “I just thought, ‘Ah here, I’m halfway across the world and someone said it’.” The Killing Of A Sacred Deer will be released in the autumn.