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Barry Keoghan reveals what he saw after he died 'for a few seconds'
Home>Celebrity
Updated 11:00 2 May 2026 GMT+1Published 10:59 2 May 2026 GMT+1

Barry Keoghan reveals what he saw after he died 'for a few seconds'

The Saltburn star shared in detail what he saw when he briefly died

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

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Featured Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Topics: Barry Keoghan, Drugs, Celebrity, Podcast

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

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@niamhshackleton

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Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction which some readers may find distressing.

Barry Keoghan has opened up about his addiction to drink and drugs, even recalling a time he died for a short period of time.

Keoghan, whose best known for starring the films like Saltburn, The Banshees of Inisherin, and Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, has been open about his addiction battles in the past.

The 33-year-old lost his mother to heroin addiction and his late father, who he was estranged from, also had problems with drugs.

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His mom died in 2003 when he was just 12 years old and he ended up growing up in the foster care system afterwards.

Keoghan then battled addiction issues himself but has now been clean for over two years, he recently told Selena Gomez's husband Benny Blanco on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast.

Barry Keoghan has opened up about his addiction battles (Friends Keep Secrets/YouTube)
Barry Keoghan has opened up about his addiction battles (Friends Keep Secrets/YouTube)

"My mom died at 31 of a heroin overdose. My dad passed away. But the curiosity of still wanting to do this for me," he reflected. "It took me three attempts of rehab."

"There was a sudden switch and it was when I was 32," the BAFTA Award winning actor went on to say of his sobriety. "I was the same age as my mom and I thought 'that's it, I'm not doing it [anymore]'."

When asked if he drinks alcohol, Keoghan said he now doesn't 'do anything' and said that he describes himself as allergic to alcohol because of how he reacts to it.

He then went on to recall how in the midst of his addiction battles he actually died 'for a few seconds' in London, UK.

The actor says he's now been clean from drugs and alcohol for over two years (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for ABA)
The actor says he's now been clean from drugs and alcohol for over two years (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for ABA)

"I technically did die for a few seconds," Keoghan shared. He was then asked if he had a 'post-death vision' in that brief timeframe.

"It was almost like a f**king painting," he began to share on one side of his post-death vision. "It happened in London and I went for a few seconds and there was this sort of image of fields and there was the wind."

Keoghan continued: "There was this girl walking away and she wouldn't look back. She had blond hair and was walking away and I kept calling her. And she just kept walking. I wanted to see who it was, and it was almost like she was walking away to get me to follow."

Speaking about the other side of what he saw, The Batman actor said: "On this side there were council flats."

Council flats in the UK are social housing properties owned and managed by local authorities.

"It was like where I grew up and it was black and white," he continued. "And this side [with the girl] was in color."

"There were loads of lads stabbing me and push me over. Obviously it was the doctors doing the work on me (what I was feeling), but in this vision they were stabbing me and pushing me.

"They were trying to push me over onto [the other] side. I swear, I sh*t you not, I was begging them that I could stay. They were like 'alright, let him stay'."

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.

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