Barry Keoghan has explained how he had some reservations about filming the final scene in Saltburn.
The actor plays university student Oliver Quick in Emerald Fennell’s black comedy drama, alongside Jacob Elordi as his classmate Felix Catton.
At the end of the film, it’s revealed that Oliver orchestrated various deaths within the Catton family after spending his summer at Saltburn – making him the sole inheritor of the entire estate.
In celebration of his success, Oliver strips naked and dances through the Saltburn estate to ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ by Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Speaking about filming the scene to Entertainment Weekly, Keoghan said he was initially hesitant to bare all. “The initial thing was about me having no clothes on. I’m a bit ehhh,” the actor said. “But 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.’”
Keoghan said the ending “totally felt right”, adding: “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.’ Yeah… it was fun.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Fennell said they shot the dance scene 11 times in total. While the seventh take was “technically perfect”, the director said it was missing the “absolutely devilish joy” she wanted for the scene.
“Barry, to his credit, did it four more times until the one that you see, which has this total fucking evil joie de vivre that is impossible not to be on board with,” Fennell said.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor recently gave her reaction to the film’s final scene, saying she “wasn’t quite prepared for the visual”.