THE director who gave Barry Keoghan his first break has revealed he had to persuade RTE to hire the young actor as Love/Hate’s cat killer. Future Saltburn star Barry , now 31, was just 12 when he answered an advert from film-maker Mark O’Connor, seeking fresh faces for his movie Between the Canals. Mark not only cast first timer Barry in the flick, he also helped the Dubliner develop his unique acting style by recommending films he should watch.
The Killiney director went on to cast Barry in two further films, King of the Travellers and Stalker, both released in 2012. The youngster turned up for filming every day, which led to Mark convincing RTE that Barry could be relied on for a starring role in Love/Hate. Mark told The Irish Sun on Sunday: “Back then, RTE didn’t want to cast Barry in Love/Hate.
“That wasn’t going to happen. It’s very risky if you need an actor for a TV show and you’re going to give them a character. “They need to be reliable.
But I was pushing for Barry, saying he was reliable and you have to have him in.” And Barry never missed a day on crime drama Love/Hate, with his role as cat killer Wayne helping to catapult him to roles in Dunkirk and Batman . Mark still recalls early meetings with Barry around north inner city Dublin before he got his first screen role.
He told us: “Barry would arrive on a scramble bike wearing a tracksuit. I felt he had a very interesting look and was exceptionally talented. “But it did take a lot of .