Barry Keoghan is set to play the legendary outlaw Billy The Kid in a way that promises ‘vulnerability’, it has been revealed.
Element Pictures, RAW and Film4 are coming together to take on one of the most enduring legends of the Old West: Billy the Kid. What’s more, they’ve lined up one of screen’s finest young talents to fill the boots of the baby-faced gunslinger. Barry Keoghan has signed up to play the titular outlaw and he’s not in bad company either: Paul Newman, Emilio Estevez and Val Kilmer have all previously taken a turn as the notorious figure, to name but three.
Like those illustrious names who’ve come before him, Keoghan is set to make the role his own, with this contemporary take said to be focused on ‘Billy’s Irish ancestry and complicated childhood.’
Keoghan has been brilliant in lots of projects for years now, and we’re keen to see him play a version of the outlaw with some emotional depth, something he excels at.
Like Billy the Kid, Keoghan lost his own mother at a young age and the actor briefly referred to that when discussing what he hopes to achieve with the film, stating that he hopes to ‘step outside of the legend that was built up by the papers and tackle the pressure he must have felt from those early days. He was running his whole life… there’s a soul and a vulnerability to Billy that I think it’s important to bring, to understand him as a real person rather than the myth that he has become.”
American Animals director Bart Layton is set to helm the project from a script by Hunter Andrews. Production is scheduled for early 2024. We’ll let you know more on this one as we hear it.
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