Saltburn star Barry Keoghan pushed himself to the limit while filming the movie’s popular graveyard scene. 

Over the last few months, the Eternals star has received heaps of praise for his jaw-dropping performance in the Emerald Fennell-directed psychological thriller. 

Set in 2006, the “beautifully wicked tale” follows Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), an Oxford University student who finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Elordi). 

When Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at Saltburn, the former’s sprawling family estate, the two embark on a summer holiday filled with sex, intrigue and, of course, murder. 

Since its release, Saltburn has received universal acclaim from fans and critics – with many praising its dark humour and boundary-pushing plot.

However, one aspect of the film that has garnered much attention from viewers is Keoghan’s sexually explicit graveyard scene. 

After the tragic death of Felix, Oliver goes to the former’s grave to mourn him. However, things take a shocking turn when he takes off all his clothes and starts to hump the burial plot – which adds another layer to Oliver’s deadly obsession with Felix.

While it has been nearly three months since the film’s initial release, Keoghan’s unhinged performance has continued to captivate viewers. 

During his recent Hot Ones interview, The Batman star spilt all the tea about the boundary-pushing scene when asked if he ever felt unsafe or close to the feeling while filming a movie. 

 

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“I mean, I shagged a grave in Saltburn, right? Can’t get closer to death or getting mud diseases in your…” he joked. “I should get that checked.” 

Keoughan said that even though the graveyard scene was intense to film, he loves going to extremes in his movies. 

Saltburn really pushed it. Every role pushes it, and I like to be pushed. I don’t want something comfy,” he continued. 

“I want to really artistically go there and there’s moments on sets and movies where you lose sight of camera and you kind of get this, it’s only for two seconds or so, but it’s like this nauseous feeling, when your just so present and it’s what we chase. We, as actors, chase it every time we go on set.” 

His recent statement on Hot Ones isn’t the first time he’s shared behind-the-scenes details about the aforementioned scene.

Back in January, he told Deadline that he improvised the NSFW moment, stating that it helped move the story forward. 

“I wanted to see what Oliver would do next. I wanted to see what the next level of obsession was. And by that [I mean], I just wanted the camera to roll,” he explained. 

“Not to kind of preempt it or rehearse it and what happened, happened. It was one take, and I think it was right. It moved the story forward.” 

You can watch Saltburn now on Prime Video.