Barry Keoghan talks about fighting a deadly infection

Barry Keoghan contracted a rare and deadly infection in 2021 that almost cost him his life. In an interview with GQ magazine, the Irish actor said that a few days before filming the comedy drama "The Banshees of Inisherin" (2022) learned about his unusual diagnosis. Necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating disease.

Talk of this two-year-old incident came after followers began asking on Twitter what the scar on the actor's arm was that can be seen on him in the movie "Saltburn" (2023). So Barry in a conversation with the magazine had to answer this question directly. Viewers compared the mark on his body to "a tattoo crawling across the skin like a snake."

Keoghan did not go into detail about how he contracted the infection, which is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes or Clostridium perfringens, but said he was in danger of having his arm amputated. "I asked the doctors, 'I'm not going to die, am I?" to which I was told, "We don't really know," he added. Fortunately, Barry's life and arm were able to be saved at the hospital, and after being hospitalized, he returned to the set and eventually received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Dominic Kearney.