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No one is having more fun in Hollywood than Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan. The respective Australian and Irish natives—who are both expert contenders vying to be the internet’s collective boyfriend of the month—have recently embarked on the press tour for the deliciously depraved Saltburn.
If you have avoided Letterboxd reviews or any gaudy mid-noughties promotional material, you mightn’t be aware that the emerging leading men have teamed up for the latest haunting thrilled from the wickedly intelligent mind of Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman).
Saltburn is an erotically dark tale of class contempt, unrelenting greed, a fascination with beauty and the lengths humanity, (well in this case, middle-class Oxford graduates) will go to climb the social ladder.
Keoghan’s leads the film as awkward interloper Oliver Quick, who draws to the flame of his alluring, handsome and mega-wealthy classmate Felix Catton (Elordi) like a moth. (Moths, spiders, flies and decrepit insects become a prominent motif throughout the film’s runtime).
Without giving too much away, Oliver’s obsession with Felix’s life spins a sordid web of lust, duplicity and ultimately, death. But just as Keoghan’s social pariah Oli clings to Felix, it appears that he and Elordi have found themselves to be kindred spirits with one another in real life, too.
Perhaps it’s the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike that is propelling their youthful giddiness around each other, but the duo certainly have a chokehold on the girls, gays and theys with how fixated they are.
As someone who has watched Saltburn in theatre twice, I can attest to the magnetic charm the pair have when they’re on screen together. And thanks to their promotional commitments, this magic has just been amplified across the red carpet, in-person screenings and major interview profiles.
Though these pixelated tidbits don’t compare to the debauched seduction of the film, their off-screen chemistry is discernibly palpable. Below, we bring you the best Elordi and Keoghan’s moments from their Saltburn press tour bringing new meaning to the film’s tagline, “Come inside, never leave”.
Spoilers ahead.
Jacob Elordi Is “Proud” That Barry Keoghan Drank His Seminal Fluid
One of Saltburn’s most grotesque scenes comes in the form of Keoghan slurping up Elordi’s semen as it drains out of a bathtub. For context, Oliver quickly becomes enamoured with the lifestyle Saltburn provides, with the character both literally and figuratively wanting a taste of what it would be like to live as Felix. After watching Felix masturbate in their shared bathtub, Oliver greedily jumps into the tub to lick up what remains. Yes, it’s deviant and twisted—and not the only debased scene of that nature—but one relevant to exploring the depths of Oliver’s psyche.
Speaking to Variety at the film’s Los Angeles premiere, Elordi revealed that his response to the scene wasn’t one of discomfort, but pride. “I was like, ‘Thank God, it’s mine,’” the 6’5″ actor revealed. “I was very proud. I was very proud to have Barry Keoghan guzzling it like that.”
When this was brought to Keoghan’s attention, the Academy Award nominee responded in typical tongue-in-cheek Irish charm. “He doesn’t text me back or ring me back. It’s so weird. He’s pretending to like me. It’s weird, man.”
Oh, to see those message exchanges. We wonder if Keoghan is asking to borrow one of Elodri’s expansive bag collections. Truthfully, we wouldn’t respond either if that was the case.
Jacob Elordi & Barry Keoghan Lean In For A Kiss At Los Angeles Premiere
The marker of a good relationship shouldn’t be complimentary love languages, attachment styles or even astrological compatibility. Rather, the merit should be judged on whether your significant other looks at you the way Elordi and Keoghan look at one another.
At the Los Angeles premiere of the film, the actors turned up the heat of their steamy, nasty friendship by courting one another on the step and repeat. In the footage, which you can see below, Elordi noticed Keoghan watching him with intense vigour. So, what would any leading man do but give us a show? In response, Elordi leaned in for a kiss, which Keoghan reciprocated, before turning his head at the last minute. A titillating tease that mirrors the relationship between their on-screen counterparts.
Yes, the pair have received the same queerbaiting allegations as Harry Styles and Nick Kroll did after their kiss at the Venice Film Festival, but with Saltburn really a much-needed addition to the homoerotic canon, we’ll take this moment at its face value: flirty fun between two bros!
Jacob Elordi & Barry Keoghan Flirty British Vogue Interview
With the film oscillating between 2006-era Oxford University and the grandest manor ever conjured, allow us to paint a picture of why Elordi and Keoghan are being so naughty to promote their noughties movie.
As anyone who experienced the degenerate rite of passage experience of going home to a boys-only dorm room, share house or fraternity following a night out, you’ll know the ritual that these early 20-somethings get into. These types of “afters” typically end with a group of guys tipsily expressing their adoration and love for one another, going around in a circle to compliment each other’s feats of manhood until it becomes nauseatingly exhausting for anyone not on the receiving end. This is exactly the energy that was captured during a three-minute interview between the pair for British Vogue.
In the short video, titled “Jacob & Barry In Conversation”, we get a fly-on-the-wall look at the ins and outs of their bromance, including their philandering banter. From Keoghan wishing he could ask Marlon Brando “What is heaven like”, to which Elordi responds, “I bet you he hates it!”, to discussing how they bonded over their vintage Game Boys on set, you’re left feeling like you were privy to the world’s best first date. Watch it for yourself below.
