If There Was a Golden Globe for Improv, Barry Keoghan Would Have Won in a Landslide

Saltburn, the sophomore directorial effort from Emerald Fennell that looks all but destined for cult classic status, may not have had any luck at the Golden Globes last night, but now we know that it’s maybe just because the jurors don’t weigh improvisation very heavily during voting. Otherwise, the movie’s star Barry Keoghan would have surely walked away with a statuette.

***Spoilers for Saltburn ahead***

During an interview with Deadline on the Golden Globes red carpet, Keoghan stated that the chillingly provocative graveyard scene from Saltburn, in which Oliver (Keoghan) sexually grinds on the grave of Felix (Jacob Elordi), was improvised by him, which speaks to the Academy Award nominee’s raw talent more than anything.

Keoghan told the outlet:

I wanted to see what Oliver would do next. I wanted to see what the next level of obsession was. And by that [I mean], I just wanted the camera to roll. Not to kind of preempt it or rehearse it and what happened, happened. It was one take, and I think it was right. It moved the story forward.

Indeed, for a film like Saltburn—which strategically forgoes distinguishable storytelling foundation in favor of emboldened, punchy, almost Shakespearean presentation—anything less than a man-possessed-esque turn from your protagonist’s actor would have been unacceptable, and Keoghan brought all that and more to the table as Oliver Quick. His darkly obsessive scenery eating was impressive on its own, but dreaming up the aforementioned bit of physical improvisation on the spot shows a unique, twisted deftness of the craft that some would say is impossible to teach.

All that said, there was no injustice to be found among the film acting awards at the Golden Globes, with Keoghan having lost out on the Best Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama award to Cillian Murphy for his leading turn in Oppenheimer, a feat many are expecting Keoghan’s fellow Irishman to repeat at the Academy Awards later this year.

Elsewhere, Rosamund Pike, who starred alongside Keoghan in Saltburn, lost the Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture (Supporting Actress) award to The Holdovers‘ brilliant Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

(featured image: Amazon MGM Studios)