There’s no question that Saltburn has become one of award season's most talked-about films. Directed by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn stars Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick, a troubled Oxford University student who befriends his popular classmate, Felix (Jacob Elordi). Soon after, their friendship sends Oliver into a fit of obsession with dire consequences.
If you're somehow unfamiliar with the discourse: Saltburn is largely known for a couple of graphic scenes, which are pretty damn hard to look away from—one of which takes place at a grave site. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t be the one to spoil it for you. Let’s just say… Keoghan gets down and dirty for a bit. In Esquire’s latest Explain This video, Keoghan reflected on the viral scene—which he improvised by the way. “I think no one spoke for a bit,” he said of the crew's reaction.
“You know, I had mud all over me as well,” he continued. “There's a lot of crazy things I’d done for that movie.” After pausing for a moment, the actor shared his final thoughts on the matter. “Whatever I say right now after what you just watched… you’re not even going to take in because of what you’ve just seen.” Fair enough, man.
Now that he’s done fooling around in graveyards, Keoghan is ready for his next project. “I’d like to do a rom-com,” he told Esquire. “Am I funny? is the question; Am I romantic? is the question as well.” I have a feeling Keoghan won’t have much trouble winning his audience's affection. Even when playing a necrophiliac, fans can’t seem to resist his charm. Still, Keoghan has a healthy sense of humour about viewers' puzzling reactions to Saltburn. “I want to step away from the freaky roles to see, ‘Does anyone still adore me?’” he joked. “Probably not.”
As an associate staff writer at Esquire, McNeal covers pop culture, music, and television. You'll find her writing about Hulu’s Under the Bridge and Only Murders in The Building, along with thorough film and television round-ups that make binge-watching much easier. On the music front, she writes album reviews and profiles artists like Niall Horan and The Last Dinner Party. She also crafts whip-smart essays: (See: Jordan Peele's Us is his best film to date.) Before working at Esquire, she covered entertainment at NYLON. You can also find her writing in Refinery29 and InStyle. When she’s not working, McNeal is likely scouring the city for the best crab rangoon, attending a dance class, or gardening in her backyard.
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