Barry Keoghan comes from one of the toughest backgrounds, says his former Love/Hate co-star John Connors who reveals there's only one word he has for the online abuse from Sabrina Carpenter superfans

Published: 13:21, 17 July 2026 | Updated: 13:21, 17 July 2026 John Connors has hit out at the ‘disgusting’ online abuse of his friend fellow actor and early co-star Barry Keoghan. The actor spoke out after Keoghan recently told an interviewer that online vitriol about his appearance has made him ‘shy away… not want to attend places, not want to go outside’. Connors acted opposite the 2023 Oscar nominee in the 2012 film Stalker, which he co-scripted with director Mark O’Connor. The writing duo created a part specially for the teenage Keoghan, who had shown star quality in O’Connor’s previous film, Between The Canals. Filmmaker and actor Connors, who would later star opposite Keoghan again in RTÉ crime series Love/Hate, told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘In the last few months and years, Barry has been getting a lot of stick online from people, which I think is disgusting.’ Criticism apparently intensified after Keoghan’s 2024 breakup from pop star Sabrina Carpenter, while he has also received flack relating to his parenting of his young son Brando. John Connors spoke out after Keoghan recently told an interviewer that online vitriol about his appearance has made him ‘shy away… not want to attend places, not want to go outside’ Criticism apparently intensified after Keoghan’s 2024 breakup from pop star Sabrina Carpenter Connors said: ‘If people just walked a mile in Barry’s shoes and knew the background he had – Barry had one of the toughest upbringings you could imagine.  'He’s already been public about this, but his mother and father were both drug addicts and both of them have passed away, and he grew up in the foster care system.’ The 33-year-old actor was then reared by his grandmother and aunt, who Connors called ‘lovely people as well’. ‘They’re from [Dublin’s] inner city, from Summerhill, a great community, but it’s a very tough community as well, very much like my own – Darndale [also in Dublin]. ‘So Barry has seen a lot and been through a lot.  'You don’t get many from his background getting to the level he’s got to, so he’s like one in a million.  'So I really don’t like when people start giving him stick or judging him. They don’t know him.’ IFTA-winning Connors had the recent honour of having a part written just for him – in his case by legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog, for his drama Bucking Fastard. Shot in Ireland, it also stars Kate and Rooney Mara, Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson. ‘[Herzog] wrote a part specifically for me, which was kind of bizarre,’ Connors laughed, explaining he had turned down an audition because the role only entailed one line.  ‘I said there’s nothing I can really show in one line, so I sent my showreel, and basically they came back and said: “Werner is going to write a part for you.”  I was like, “happy days” – so he wrote a part and it was a part I had a lot of fun with.’ The Oscar-nominated director was ‘brilliant’ to work for, while the Mara sisters – who share all Connors’s scenes – were ‘great’. IFTA-winning Connors had the recent honour of having a part written just for him – in his case by legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog ‘These are Hollywood A-listers, and they were so down-to-earth and actually really funny and up for the craic,’ he remembered.  ‘They’re Irish on both sides, going back.  'They’re very well aware of it, and very proud of it, and have spent time in Ireland.’ The Cardboard Gangsters writer and star – now based in Belfast with his fellow actor wife Danielle Magennis – also recalled fun on the set of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, where he bonded with Vinnie Jones over cups of tea. ‘Vinnie is the most down-to-earth man you would ever meet in your life,’ said the 36-year-old, who had a small recurring role in the 2024 Netflix series. ‘I remember me and him just sitting around the fire drinking cups of tea and having an auld chat.’ Connors, who comes from a traveller background, continued: ‘Actually, he felt very much like a Traveller, and I believe he does have Gypsy in him somewhere in his blood, and he knows a lot of Travellers. Johnny Elliott plays a disgruntled artist and father of a young girl who launches a public crusade against the notion of Santa Claus A week of outrage on Liveline over an upcoming Christmas movie from Alex Fegan could be as good as a marketing campaign, the film’s star John Connors has said. Murphy Vs Christmas – the first drama from acclaimed documentary maker Fegan – had its world premiere last week at the Galway Film Fleadh and should be in Irish cinemas in winter. Johnny Elliott plays a disgruntled artist and father of a young girl who launches a public crusade against the notion of Santa Claus – making it wholly unsuitable for children. Asked if a sequence in the film in which the lead character is scorned on a phone-in show could be replicated in real life, Connors told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘If that happens, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for the film. But it could end up happening – who knows? – especially because it’s going to be released around Christmas time.’ Connors, continued that the film is ‘controversial in itself, for sure’, describing the main character’s hardline stance as something ‘we haven’t really seen on screen’. And he called the message of the film, which also muses on the real Saint Nicholas, ‘philosophically and theologically very, very interesting’. ‘Saint Nicholas was one of the greatest saints of the church and was a very, very generous human being who was like a Christ warrior, and his message was very powerful,’ Connors said. ‘So if you were the devil and you wanted to water down his message, you would turn him into this commercial, cheesy, sugary [entity]. ‘But ultimately, no matter what, this one’s going to make people laugh.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.