Barry Keoghan sure knows how to turn heads.
For Vanity Fair’s 30th annual Hollywood issue, Keoghan appeared in a cover video alongside Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Jodie Comer, Lily Gladstone, Greta Lee, Charles Melton, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Jenna Ortega.
In the clip, the actors appear in pairs bantering with each other as they scroll across the screen. At one point, Keoghan appears alone and in the nude as a nod to his now-infamous naked dancing scene in Saltburn.
The film, written and directed by Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), follows Oliver Quick (Keoghan), who just started his first year at Oxford, per Rolling Stone. He befriends and develops an obsession with his peer, the wealthy Felix Catton (Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi) who invites him to stay at his family’s luxurious estate in Saltburn, England for the summer.
The jaw-dropping thriller created new pop culture moments, including the “bathtub scene” with Elordi and Keoghan’s dance to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder On The Dancefloor” at the end of the film.
“I do dance around naked though, in my house,” Keoghan told Vanity Fair‘s Chris Murphy with a laugh. “Everyone does, man. We all sing in the shower. We all act silly when we’re alone and we feel this freedom. It’s one thing that I did relate to. Not dancing around a manor of that sort with that fecking drip hanging about—but I sing out loud, I dance silly and move my body silly.”
The Irish actor told the publication that he was “impressed” by his own moves in the scene but wasn’t too concerned about the nudity.
“It’s crazy. It can be detrimental to the mind and your mental state if you read into it too much or you look at too much stuff being said,” said Keoghan. “But I wouldn’t go there if I wasn’t prepared for that, or if I wasn’t open to receiving what people want to say. I think it shows an act of maturity in your craft, and if it justifies the story and moves it forward, why not?”
Keoghan continued, discussing the art and vulnerability that goes into creating a nude scene.
“You look at European cinema and they tend to have a lot of scenes that involve nudity, and it’s not a massive thing, really. But I think it’s true art. It really is. And it’s true vulnerability as well," he added. "You’re really kind of putting yourself out there in the most vulnerable state. It’s beautiful to look at. I’m not saying it’s because of my body, but it’s freeing to see that body move around in the way it does. It’s like a moving painting, almost.”
Check out Vanity Fair's full Hollywood issue here.
