Barry Keoghan has revealed that he nearly lost his arm to a flesh-eating disease.
The Saltburn star has shared that he suffered from a case of necrotising fasciitis before he began filming 2022’s The Banshees of Inisherin.
During a new cover story for GQ, Barry showed the interviewer, Alex Pappademas, the scar he was left with as a result of the disease.
“Keoghan peels off his shirt, revealing a slightly pale, compactly muscled chest and the gnarly scar tissue that winds its way up his arm like a snake tattoo,” the journalist wrote.
According to the publication, Barry, 31, explained that he had faced potential amputation of his arm, and at one point, doctors didn’t know if he would make it.
Despite the scare, Martin McDonagh, director of the comedy/horror film, shared that the Irish actor had dealt with the health emergency well.
“He seemed to shrug it off,” the director told GQ. “We were only about four days out from shooting, and his arm was puffed up. But he was like, ‘Yeah, no, I’m going to be fine – I’ll see you on Tuesday.'”
Martin added, “I went to the hospital thinking, ‘S**t – is he going to die?’ Let alone, is he going to make the movie. But I came out of there energized and looking forward to it.”
Barry noted that during his visit to the hospital, Martin told him to remember what he had gone through when he eventually got nominated for an Oscar.
Barry had been nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Banshees of Inisherin, however, he lost to Ke Huy Quan for his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once.