Photo Credit: Getty Images
In the closing moments of the 2023 black comedy thriller Saltburn, actor Barry Keoghan strips down completely nude and dances triumphantly around the grand Saltburn mansion. The scene, which has sent fans into a frenzy, has now ignited discussion around Keoghan's commitment to the role and whether any prosthetics were used.
Keoghan, who plays the film's protagonist Oliver Quick, recently appeared on the Louis Theroux Podcast and flatly rejected claims that his manhood was "enhanced" for the infamous dance sequence. "Enhanced? Who said that?... Nah... Wow," the 32-year-old actor stated emphatically. "It was all me, you know... it was a thing that I didn't really bat an eyelid to."
The striking nude scene comes at the end of Saltburn, which follows the story of Oliver, a down-on-his-luck Oxford scholarship student who becomes infatuated with his wealthy upper-class friend Felix Catton (played by Jacob Elordi). In a shocking twist, it's revealed that Oliver has spent years meticulously plotting to gain control of Felix's family estate, going so far as to murder Felix and his relatives.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Keoghan described the motivation behind the climactic dance scene, saying it represented Oliver's sense of "ownership" over the Saltburn mansion. "It's ownership. This is my place. It's full confidence in, 'I can do what I want in this manor. I can strip to my barest and waltz around because this is mine,'" he explained.
Director Emerald Fennell echoed this sentiment, noting that the sequence was meant to convey Oliver's "triumph" and "post-coital win" after carrying out his elaborate scheme. "If we all did our job correctly, you are on Oliver's side," Fennell said. "You don't care what he does, you want him to do it. You are both completely repulsed and sort of on his side."
Keoghan himself admitted that he was initially hesitant about the nude scene, telling EW, "The initial thing was about me having no clothes on. I'm a bit, ehhh." However, he eventually embraced the challenge, filming the sequence 11 times to get it just right. "After take one, I was ready to go. I was like, 'Let's go again. Let's go again.' You kind of forget, because there's such a comfortable environment created, and it gives you that license to go, 'All right, this is about the story now,'" he said.
The provocative closing scene has sparked a frenzy among Saltburn fans, with many taking to social media to praise Keoghan's performance and the artistic merits of the sequence. As one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "Barry Keoghan naked dancing to Murder On The Dancefloor at the end of Saltburn is actually iconic what a little freak."
Whether you find the scene disturbing or captivating, one thing is clear: Barry Keoghan's uninhibited turn as the conniving, yet strangely sympathetic, Oliver Quick has solidified his reputation as one of the most daring and versatile actors of his generation.
