A Look At Barry Keoghan And Jacob Elordi's IRL Friendship
Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi are the gift that keeps on giving. The unlikely duo acted their hearts out in "Saltburn," and their chemistry was off-the-charts. Their onscreen friendship stemmed from the actors' real-life love and admiration for each other. We first witnessed it during the film's premiere (via YouTube), when Keoghan stared at Elordi until, eventually, the "Euphoria" star jokingly leaned in for a kiss. It seems like the sweet moment served as a testament to Keoghan's first impressions of Elordi, which he shared with Associated Press.
The "Banshees of Inisherin" star reminisced, "I was just looking up, like, 'How f***** tall are you?' Seems like he gets taller every time I see him it's weird." It's only natural that the 5' 8" Keoghan would marvel at the 6' 5" Elordi, but he quickly got over it, gushing, "He's just a gorgeous person." After joking that he couldn't stand Elordi during their first meeting, the Irish actor confirmed that he had grown to become one of his dearest friends.
While the two bonded during their time on "Saltburn," they also got some time together off-set as the duo worked towards their physiques with trainer Kirk Meyers. Speaking to GQ, Meyers explained that he primarily worked as Elordi's trainer, while Keoghan occasionally visited them to get a good workout in. Funnily enough, "Saltburn" could've easily ended up like the beloved movies Elordi regrets starring in because of the intimate scenes that would've been awkward to film if it weren't for his close bond with his co-star.
Elordi and Keoghan can freely joke around with each other
"Saltburn" features an explicit scene where Barry Keoghan drinks Jacob Elordi's bodily fluids from a bathtub. The "Priscilla" star shared his feelings about the eyebrow-raising moment during a Variety interview. "I was like, 'Thank God, it's mine,'" Elordi admitted. "I was very proud. I was very proud to have Barry Keoghan guzzling it like that." When the interviewer passed on his thoughts to Keoghan, the "Killing of a Sacred Deer" star joked that it was ironic that Elordi felt so passionate about the scene because he wasn't returning his calls or answering his texts.
Keoghan added that he felt like he was being led on by his co-star. We also saw several glimpses of their IRL bond during a Q&A session promoting the movie. While Elordi could barely fit his tall frame into the chair and had to bend his legs to ensure he could sit comfortably, Keoghan looked snug as he rested his feet on the bottom. So, when the "Kissing Booth" star noticed his colleague was looking a little thirsty, he bent down with ease to hand him a drink and patted his knee to subtly remind him that this was a normal tall people thing, setting off an Internet frenzy.
In a British Vogue interview, we saw their banter live in action when Keoghan sweetly said that having a son was the proudest moment of his life. Elordi then mocked the way fans would see him as a kind soul because of his answer, which caused the "Eternals" star to jokingly smack him.
They respect each other tremendously as actors
Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi also told British Vogue that they whipped out their Game Boys on the "Saltburn" set to play Pokémon together. Each actor asserted that the other was one of the main reasons he joined the project. Moreover, during a Collider interview, they both gushed about how their co-star brought out the best in their performance. Elordi noted, "Barry's like pure electricity when he acts," adding that the Irishman was a spontaneous performer whose next moves were hard to predict.
Meanwhile, Keoghan shared, "With Jacob, he matches your energy. He lets you take the lead, and it comes back." He continued by divulging that Elordi's dynamic acting created a fun on-set experience, adding, "I admire [that] because then it allows me to react to what I'm seeing and what's in front of me." Regardless of that high praise, in the British Vogue interview, Elordi couldn't help but joke that he and "Saltburn" director Emerald Fennell initially wanted Timothée Chalamet to play Keoghan's role.
But then the "Priscilla" star suggested Keoghan because, unlike Chalamet, he wouldn't have to make his height appear smaller by unnatural means. It seems like Keoghan dearly misses working with Elordi because he took to his Instagram Stories in December 2023 to share a framed photo of them and captioned it with a heartbroken emoji. One user took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to point out that his Stories even made it seem like he was going through a breakup.