How Barry Keoghan went from foster care homes to winning his first Bafta for Banshees of Inisherin

Donning a red suit, Barry Keoghan was red hot at the 2023 Baftas as he clinched the best supporting actor trophy for his role in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Barry was up against his co-star Brendan Gleeson as well as Eddie Redmayne, Michael Ward, Ke Huy Quan and Albrecht Schuch and ended up bringing back one of Banshee’s four Bafta awards of the night.

Barry, who was still shocked at his win, told co-host Alison Hammond he was going to go home following the ceremony and celebrate with his young son Brando, who was born in August 2022.

The 30-year-old actor’s win comes ahead of his first Oscar nomination where he will face similar competition, however Barry’s triumph may mean more than most in terms of how Barry has overcome the odds.

Following Barry’s win and Oscar nomination on 24 January, stars highlighted how far Barry has come in pursuit of his acting dreams, after growing up in 13 different foster homes, and the Eternals star even commented on Instagram saying 'little Barry, told you we would get there.'

For seven years Barry and his brother Eric moved around foster care homes before being raised by his maternal grandmother, his aunt and his older sister Gemma from the age of 10.

Barry opened up about his childhood in various interviews including British GQ and Ireland’s The Late Late Show, in which he said: “Every family was good to us. As a kid, you don’t know what’s happening. You get attached … and then boom. Let’s move over here…I don't have a hometown, that's what I'm saying."

Barry’s mother struggled with drug addiction and passed away when the young actor was 12-years-old, but the Dunkirk star remained determined to chase his acting dreams and secured his first acting role by responding to a casting call in a shop window at the age of 16.

Since then, Barry has starred in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, Marvel’s Eternals, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and the 2022 film The Batman.

As Barry continues on his Bafta high and prepares for the Oscars on 13 March, PeopleWorld takes a look at other well-known actors who were raised in foster care and who made it to the big time.

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe is arguably one of the most famous faces to have grown up in foster care. Her mother was declared legally insane after bringing up Marilyn as a single parent, and the future icon was sent to an orphanage for two years before living with family friends.

Pierce Brosnan

The James Bond actor had to live with his grandparents from the age of four as his mother moved away to train to be a nurse, however, both his grandparents passed away just two years later. As a result, Pierce stayed with relatives before being sent to a boarding house until he turned 10.

Eddie Murphy

Eddie has opened up about his albeit short-term foster care experience in suggesting that it allowed him to shape his humour to where he is now. Eddie and his brother moved into foster care for a year when his father had passed away and his mother was taken to hospital for bad health.

Cher

If you could turn back time, you would see that Cher had to enter foster care at the age of two due to her mother Georgia being overcome with illness. After living in foster care for several years, Cher was able to move back in with her mother and grandmother.

Neil Morrisey

British actor Neil Morrisey opened up about his foster care experience in his recent BBC documentary ‘Care Home Kid’, in which he highlighted that he and his brother (aged 10 and 12) had to be taken from their parents due to ‘an unclean, neglecting household’.