In Bird, Barry Keoghan plays Bug, a single father to daughter Bailey (Nykiya Adams). Keoghan says he drew inspiration for the character from his own life experience, mentioning that there is a brother-sister vibe between the characters.
The latter makes sense, considering the movie is based on a father who had his child at a younger age. Barry Keoghan did say about the experience, “…but for me, the experience of playing a father was — obviously I’m a father, but at that age, she’s 12 in the movie, and it’s like, what do I base it on?”
Barry Keoghan’s Bird was first screened at Cannes in May 2024, and is screening at the Toronto Film Festival as well. For the most part, critics have praised the film, especially the writing and direction from Andrea Arnold who’s been down the Cannes-praise path before with movies like Red Road, Fish Tank, and American Honey.
