1. Greatest onscreen performance?
“Marlon Brando in ‘On the Waterfront’ (1954). He’s so calm, and he speaks the way he’d speak in real life, kind of mumbling. Paul Newman, too, in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ (1967). These men were almost father figures for me. I observed them in the absence of my own father, basically to figure out how to be a man.”
2. What about onstage?
“I went to see [Tennessee Williams’s] ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ (1947) with Paul Mescal in London at the start of our rehearsals [for Sam Mendes’s forthcoming Beatles biopic in four films, in which Keoghan will play Ringo Starr]. He has such presence, such physicality.”
3. Most visually influential film?
“Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971). The furniture is really funky. It’s one of those movies where a place is a main character. And there are no special effects. What you see are sets.”
4. Top New York movie?
“ ‘Dark Days’ (2000) by Marc Singer. It’s a documentary about the people who live underground in the subway tunnels. I’ve always been interested in people who are forced into society but can’t adapt.”
5. Director to watch?
“All my favorites, whether it’s Barry Jenkins or Chloé Zhao or Yorgos Lanthimos, have different styles. But in a way they all come back to the same thing, which is that their work is immersive. You forget, for an hour and a half, who you are.”
6. Poem everyone should memorize?
“ ‘To My Dead Father’ (1953) by Frank O’Hara.”
7. Myth you enjoy?
“There’s a character called Cu Chulainn [the best-known hero of the Ulster cycle, a group of tales from medieval Irish literature]. He’s this young spiritual warrior; it’s where the idea of the fighting Irish comes from. Everyone in Ireland knows the tale; it’s a very mythical place. The mythology is in us and comes out in what we do — in our music and stage work.”
8. Go-to chocolate?
“Oof, many: Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut; Maltesers. I eat chocolate nearly every day.”
9. Restaurant dish to try?
“Irish stew is very famous, but coddle, a specific variety, is a special dish and is specific to Dublin. It’s boiled sausages with broth, barley, onions and carrots.”
10. Nicest furniture piece?
“My bean bag. I brought it to the Beatles set and said, ‘Anyone can use it if they want.’ The lads were looking at me, going, ‘What?’ But I love it. You can just fall into it. It’s not telling me what way to sit.”
11. Favorite flower?
“The cactus flowers in Joshua Tree [Calif.] because they’re in a place that’s sort of dangerous, but there’s still beauty and growth there.”
12. Show tune you know every word to?
“ ‘Good Morning Baltimore,’ from ‘Hairspray’ (2002). I played the character Link Larkin years ago. I do try to sing — to go for those notes, those bridges, those riffs.”
13. City with the best style?
“London. The streetwear is insane. People are in trainers that flash different colors, and then you turn a corner and it looks like you’re in the 1940s, with all the suits. There’s license to wear what you want and not feel judged.”
14. Novel that explains the world?
“I’ve not read a novel, not ever. I can’t lie about that.”
15. Recipe everyone should know?
“I used to try to make spaghetti carbonara. You don’t make it with cream; you make it with eggs. But I gave up. I’m not a cooker, and it’s not because I’m lazy — it’s because I don’t have the patience and get too distracted.”
16. Relatable fictional character?
“I grew up watching a lot of comic book movies, and I got to play Druig in [Zhao’s 2021 Marvel movie] ‘Eternals.’ That would be the closest to someone like myself, partly because I was Irish in it.”
17. Back-pocket karaoke pick?
“I don’t do karaoke. Honestly. I’m so shy. Even on set, I’m shy, but there’s a bit of mask there, isn’t there? I like singing Justin Bieber in the car, though.”
18. Memorable live musical performance?
“I’m going to see Dave soon. He’s a U.K. rapper on the scene in Manchester, and I know that’s going to be the one, because he’s my favorite artist.”
19. Unforgettable building?
“A few years ago, I drove through France, starting in Lyon, and I remember seeing all these chateaus and being fascinated.”
20. Building to live in?
“A cabin in the mountains. You see these videos of places like Norway, with lakes and mountains, and that’s always spoken to me. I grew up as an inner-city kid. Some people like to stay in their comfort spot, but I like the idea of going the opposite way — of having time to think and answer those questions that go right past you.”
21. Nicest fabric to wear?
“I got this lovely Celine hoodie the other day, and what fabric was that? Cotton knit. It’s cozy. I feel like a pillow in it.”
22. Role you’ve always wanted to play?
“One that people will think is far from me, and I want to play it in a non-obvious way. I don’t know what that is yet.”
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Grooming by Christine Nelli at Forward Artists using Augustinus Bader. Set design by Peter Klein. Production: Hen’s Tooth Productions. Lighting director: John Law. Digital tech: Jonathan Nesteruk. Photo assistant: Matt Roady. Set designer’s assistants: Colin Phelan, Yonatan Zonszein, Jamen Whitelock. Tailor: Tae Yoshida. Stylist’s assistants: Ali Claire Marino, Casey Huang. Records: Courtesy of Galaxie 500 and Newbury Comics
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