Actor Barry Keoghan Nearly Lost His Life to Score That Intriguing Arm Scar

Irish actor Barry Keoghan is best known for his blockbuster roles in The Banshees of Inisherin, Bring Them Down, and more. And perhaps, most recognizable, he appeared in Sabrina Carpenter's "Please, Please, Please," music video.

But there's something even more memorable about the actor: an intriguing scar that winds around his arm.

Until recently, Barry never explained how he got the scar, avoiding talking about the circumstances which led to such a remarkable and noticeable scar. However, we now know how he got it, and the story's an eye-popping look into his brush with death.

Here's what we know about the origins of Barry's arm scar.

Per Barry's interview with GQ, the scar came from a near-death battle with necrotizing fasciitis. According to Cleveland Clinic, "Necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, is a bacterial infection that affects the tissue under your skin called the fascia. It spreads quickly and can cause life-threatening complications. It requires immediate treatment with surgery and antibiotics."

The bacteria can eat away at the flesh, or treatment can require cutting it away.

Speaking with GQ, Barry shared that one in five necrotizing fasciitis cases can be fatal, and the bacteria enter through cuts, scrapes, burns, or insect bites.

He recalls the battle, which occurred just days before he started filming for Banshees of Inisherin, and worrying that he would die.“But I’m not gonna die, right?” he asked the doctors, but all they could say was, "We don't know."

Banshees director Martin McDonagh visited Barry while he was in the hospital, saying the actor seemed remarkably calm at the time. He explained, “I’m not sure if he was on a lot of meds, but he seemed to shrug it off. We were only about four days out from shooting, and his arm was puffed up. But he was like, ‘Yeah, no, I’m going to be fine — I’ll see you on Tuesday!'”

Barry described the healed wound as “gnarly scar tissue that winds its way up [his] arm like a snake tattoo” and proof of his survival. The actor jokingly recalled how Martin visited him in the hospital and told him, “Just remember this when you’ve been nominated for an Oscar." Which, of course, Barry was indeed later nominated for.

While Barry is opening up about his experience with necrotizing fasciitis, the internet is still stuck on rumors that he cheated with "Espresso" singer Sabrina when they allegedly dated in 2023-2024.

While appearing on the Friends Keep Secrets podcast, Barry says that he felt compelled to withdraw from social obligations and the public eye when rumors were swirling that he had cheated on Sabrina. It all started, he said, when someone made a video suggesting he had cheated, which he said the person later apologized for, admitting to making it up. He told the podcasters, "But no one seemed to latch on to that video. And I didn't want to come forward and put that girl under [pressure]."

He explained, "I came off Instagram and social profiles. I've stopped going to events. I've stopped just socializing. And again, it's because there was a narrative out there that was never really sort of even spoken on, a narrative that's not true, and I never confirmed or said anything about it. And I just disappeared."

Luckily, the furor seems to have eventually died down, giving Barry more freedom.