Barry Keoghan’s Cousin Is One Of Ireland’s Greatest Ever Footballers

Barry Keoghan's fledgling acting career is only getting started and yet already he's achieved international recognition for his talents.

His roles in movies such as Dunkirk and The Killing Of A Sacred Deer displayed his versatility and his ability to captivate and terrify audiences in equal measure with an intensity rarely seen in one so young.

Ahead of the release of his latest film American Animals, in which he plays one of the lead roles, the Dubliner has given a wide-ranging interview to The Guardian, in which he discusses his difficult childhood in Dublin and his motivations for getting into acting.

The whole piece is a thoroughly enjoyable insight into what makes the 25-year-old tick and can be read in full here. While there are enough titbits in it to educate and amuse any fan of Keoghan's work, our favourite has to be the revelation that the star has quite a famous second cousin.

Yep, forgive us if we're late to the party here but Keoghan shares a bloodline with Frank Stapleton, the third highest goalscorer in the history of the Republic Of Ireland soccer team.

While Stapleton might be known to younger viewers as the soup-loving version made famous by Après Match...

...he was also quite a player in his day, representing Ireland, Arsenal and Manchester United with distinction...

Even though only Robbie Keane and Niall Quinn have scored more goals for the Republic than Stapleton, we reckon Keoghan's level of fame might just surpass his famous cousin, if it hasn't already.

That link again for The Guardian's brilliant interview with Barry Keoghan can be found here.