How Barry Keoghan went from foster homes to his first Oscar nomination

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Actor Barry Keoghan and his fans have been celebrating his first Oscar nomination since he was named a nominee for best actor in a supporting role on Jan. 24.

While many applauded his performance in “The Banshees of Inisherin," others, like former NBA player Rex Chapman, are highlighting how far Keoghan has come in the pursuit of his dreams.

In Chapman’s post, he retweeted a clip from Keoghan’s interview on an Irish talk show in April 2018 where the 30-year-old actor recalled growing up in the foster care system.

He shared on Ireland's “The Late Late Show” that his mother battled a drug addiction when he was a child so he lived in 13 different foster homes.

“Every family was good to us. As a kid, you don’t know what’s happening. You get attached … and then boom. Let’s move over here,” he said. "I don't have a hometown, that's what I'm saying."

Keoghan added that he and his brother were kept together.

The “Eternals” star also spoke about his childhood during an interview with British GQ published in October.

After moving to multiple foster homes, Keoghan started living with his maternal grandmother when he was 10. His mother died two years after he was reunited with his grandmother.

“It wasn’t a ‘sudden death’ kind of shock,” he told the publication.

Around that time, he started watching films starring Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul Newman.

“I was expressing,” he said. “Doing impressions, putting on accents for prank calls, going to the shops and becoming different characters each time.”

Despite his talents, it didn’t seem likely that he would make it in the industry.

“To say you wanna be an actor in that environment, you’re not looked down upon, but it’s like, ‘Get with the script. It’s not gonna happen,'" he explained.

But, he remained optimistic, and the death of his mother made him more determined, he said.

“‘What more can I lose?’” he said he told himself. “‘The only way is forward.’”

Seeing an open casting call in a shop window at age 16 led to his first role in the 2011 crime drama "Between the Canals." The director, Mark O’Connor, said Keoghan called him “every few weeks until I eventually cast him."

Keoghan appeared in multiple series, shorts and movies over the years before he was cast in Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” in 2017.

In 2021, he impressed critics and audiences in “The Green Knight” and “Eternals” before making a surprise appearance in “The Batman” as the Joker last year.

Now, he's a contender for an Oscar at the 95th annual Academy Awards on March 12.

Keoghan celebrated his nomination with a sweet Instagram post on Jan. 28.

The actor uploaded a slideshow that included a photo of him riding in a car and a picture of him with his "Banshees of Inisherin” cast members at the Golden Globes.

“Picture is the moment I found out,” he wrote in the caption. “Proud of the whole BANSHEES team.”

He thanked co-star Colin Farrell before joking that he and his newborn son, Brando, will be wearing matching outfits at the ceremony.

At the end of the post, he added, “And just a note to little Barry, told you we would get there.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com