Barry Keoghan adopted five versions of his Saltburn character

Barry Keoghan created five different versions of his character in 'Saltburn'.

The 31-year-old star plays Oxford University student Oliver Quick in Emerald Fennell's movie and explained how he adopted five separate personas to use as his alter ego in the picture.

In an interview with Variety, Barry said: "That was more for me. I looked at good leading performances with a strong arc to prepare because this was my first leading part. Writing and directing are obviously huge, but it's also up to you to keep the audience engaged.

"I created Oliver 1 for the start, then Oliver 2 for the next part, on through Oliver 5 at the end. I wanted to hit each of them with a physicality, a tone of voice, a different motive, a different pace. You see the costume and the hair changes, but you also sense his mental change and track that journey."

Barry's character is depicted as wicked in the picture – which sees Oliver befriend wealthy student Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) – but the 'Banshees of Inisherin' star feels that his alter ego does possess some "compassion" in the flick.

The Irish actor said: "He definitely has compassion. He's an addict – he's slightly addicted, slightly obsessed. He's an observer. He's fascinated by human behaviour and morals and why people act certain ways.

"He's curious why people are so attracted to Felix. What is it that's drawn all these people to him? We all have that person in our life. I remember being in school – there were one or two figures I'd watch in the schoolyard and people would gravitate to them.

"I'd wonder: What is it? Is it their smell? Is it that they're not even saying anything? But then you try to replicate it and you just look weird and stupid."