Barry Keoghan has been on fire recently. He’s played an immortal superhero for Marvel, he was nominated for an Oscar for Banshees of Inisherin, he’s the Joker now, and now he’s finally the lead. But Keoghan hasn’t just been on a recent tear; his career has followed a long path that started in 2011, and seemingly, Keoghan has made every right decision he could’ve so far. His performance for Yorgos Lanthimos opposite Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman in The Killing of a Sacred Deer was perfectly uneasy. He was featured in Nolan’s massive action thriller Dunkirk as well. But now, with Saltburn, Barry Keoghan is in the center. Keoghan’s steady rise is finally paying off with a lead role with a great director as well. 

Saltburn’s director, writer, and producer is Emerald Fennell, the director of Promising Young Woman, whose debut feature film received a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and rave reviews from critics. Carey Mulligan, the film’s star, was also praised heavily for her performance and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film. Fennell’s direction of the film was super stylistic, painful, thrilling, and entertaining. If Fennell can get out of Keoghan what she got out of Mulligan, then Keoghan might just put in the best performance of his career. The film also stars Jacob Elordi, the “Euphoria” star and rising Hollywood talent. 

Background

Saltburn is being described as a psychological thriller drama set in the mid-2000s. It stars Keoghan as a young student who is obsessed with his classmate, the handsome, popular, and rich Jacob Elordi. The premise reads: “Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.” The film is slated to release on November 17, 2023, in the United Kingdom, and it will then have a limited release in the US on November 24 before finally getting wide release on December 1, 2023. However, some viewers have already consumed Saltburn, as its world premiere was at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023. The festival release of the movie showed generally positive reviews, as it gained 82% on Rotten Tomatoes from 17 critics. 

Who Else Will Be In Saltburn?

Outside of Barry Keoghan, Saltburn has a pretty exciting cast of actors. Among others, the film stars Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, and the star of Fennell’s first film, Carey Mulligan. Elordi will be playing Felix Catton, the wealthy Oxford University student whom Keoghan’s Oliver Quick is so taken with. Pike, Grant, Oliver, and Mulligan all play different members of Felix’s Catton family (mother, father, sister, and aunt, respectively). 

This cast is full of great actors who are all incredibly established. Elordi has blown up from his Euphoria stardom and is in three movies this year, including Priscilla, where he plays Elvis. Rosamund Pike stars in her first film since I Care Alot and the Oscar-nominated actress rarely fails to deliver. Richard E. Grant will bring his ever-present air of wealth and class. Carey Mulligan will definitely be great again with Fennell, as it seems like this duo is building something together. The only relative newcomer (other than Elordi) is Alison Oliver, the Irish actress who gained fame starring in the Hulu/BBC adaptation of Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney. It is her feature film debut, a huge opportunity for Oliver as she has just been named to Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch in 2023.