Barry Keoghan Reveals How Being a Father to Son Brando Changed Him

Barry Keoghan has revealed how fatherhood has changed him forever.

During a campaign video for proposed childcare reforms in the UK, including the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammyposted via Facebook on Friday, January 17, Keoghan, 32, offered rare comments about fathering son Brando, 2, who he shares with an ex-girlfriend Alyson Sandro.

The Salt burn A star told Lammy, 52, that becoming a father led to a deep reflection on his own parents. “As I got older and had my own son, I realized that it was such hard work for her (Keoghan’s mother) and my father. And luckily there was a good care system there, which is really important,” Keoghan said. (Keoghan’s mother died of a heroin overdose when the actor was 12, per The Irish Post.)

“You can use your platform and your profile to shine a light on things, and anything to do with children and care, I always want to help and shine a light on, and get attention,” added Keoghan.

Related: Barry Keoghan’s Most Honest Quotes About Being A Father To Brando’s Son

Barry Keoghan has been candid about life as a father since welcoming his son Brando with ex-girlfriend Alyson Sandro in August 2022. The actor became a father while filming the 2023 hit film Saltburn. During a January 2024 interview with GQ, Keoghan recalled having “a day off” for Brando’s birth. “Good on them! A day off, and (…)

Keoghan became a father while filming 2023’s Salt burnsay GQ in an interview in January 2024 he had a “day off” for the birth of the youngster. “Good on them! A day off, and straight on to night sprouts and night feeding – boom!” Keoghan told the outlet at the time. “You see me tired. Yes. Brando. Well done Brando.”

Keoghan’s latest comments come after the star defended himself in person online charges of being a “mortal father.” During an interview for “The Louis Theroux Podcast” in September 2024, Keoghan acknowledged insensitive comments online trolls had recently posted.

“There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or strength, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” Keoghan told the host Louis Theroux. “Of course, (his childhood) is going to affect me as a father when I had no blueprint to take from. People read that (as) laziness and go, ‘Oh, that’s no excuse for being an absent father.’ I’m not an absent father.”

The charges are believed to have been sparked by an interview Keoghan gave to Entertainment Weekly earlier that month, when he spoke about his relationship with Brando. “I will say this – I didn’t have a father figure growing up, so even my relationship with my son is not the usual father-son relationship because I don’t have that figure to draw experience from and to build on it,” Keoghan told the outlet at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12.

Related: Barry Keoghan Responds to ‘Deadbeat Dad’ Accusations: ‘It Sickens Me’

BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP Barry Keoghan is tackling accusations that he is a “deadbeat dad.” Actor Saltburn, 32, spoke about online trolls who criticize him as a parent to his 2-year-old son, Brando, during a September appearance on “The Louis Theroux Podcast.” “There’s a lot online. If I didn’t have tough skin or the (…)

During Keoghan’s conversation with Theroux, 54, he said, “People love to use my son as ammunition or whatever. And it’s kind of leading me to stop, the more attention I’ve (got) recently and the more public I’ve become, the less I’ve posted about my child, because I don’t think it’s fair to put my child online. And because I reigned that in, people make up a narrative and go, ‘Absent father, s—, deadbeat father,’ and more disgusting things that I won’t even repeat. Just the arrogance of some people, man. It wears me out, makes me furious.”

Keoghan and Sandro, a dental nurse and orthodontic therapist, met in early 2021 before calling off their relationship in summer 2023.