The Hasty Pudding Honors Barry Keoghan as 2024’s Man of the Year

This Feb. 2, Hasty Pudding Theatricals congratulated Barry Keoghan as their 2024 Man of the Year. The annual award, along with the Woman of the Year, is presented “to performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.” The Hasty Pudding was founded in 1795 and began their tradition of hosting an annual show in 1844, which has only been interrupted by the two World Wars and the Covid-19 pandemic. They began celebrating the Woman and Man of the Year in 1951 and 1967 respectively. This year’s celebrations included a roast of The Man of the Year, a press conference hosted by Hasty Pudding Theatricals, and the opening performance of the company’s 175th production, “Heist, Heist, Baby!”

Keoghan rose to fame with his roles in films such as “Dunkirk” and “The Banshees of Inisherin,” his performance in the latter earning him a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor. He is perhaps most well-known for his recent role as Oliver Quick in “Saltburn,” a movie released in 2023.

The Pudding roast was delivered by Madison Pankey ’24 and Hannah R. Frazer ’25, student producers of “Heist, Heist, Baby!” The pair made jokes relating to Keoghan’s Irish background and his boxing abilities, making him fight a potato famine monster on stage. Most notably, in anticipation of the BAFTAs, where Koeghan was nominated for Best Leading Actor, The Pudding honored him with a blow-up “BAFTUB,” a reference to his notorious bathtub scene in “Saltburn.”

While The Pudding managed to poke fun at glaring aspects of Keoghan’s identity and career, he took it in stride, sometimes even beating them to the punchline. When one roaster said he was an Avenger — referring to his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Eternals” — Keoghan said, “Well, an Eternal,” before they could even point out how that role may hold a little less status.

Keoghan also maintained a witty banter throughout the roast, creating a friendly dynamic on stage. When it was suggested that Keoghan should be given some milk to accompany a plate of spaghetti he ate as part of a bit, Keoghan quipped, “Is it Jacob Elordi’s milk, though?”

The Harvard Crimson was present for the press conference in Farkas Hall following the roast. Keoghan discussed how it felt to receive Man of the Year, stating how honored he felt to be associated with previous nominees such as Paul Newman.

When asked about his experience with education growing up, Keoghan said, “I didn’t finish school, so the irony — Harvard!” He went on to explain how he began acting in school productions but wasn’t allowed to continue.

“Then I started to misbehave and then they took it away from me and I thought my acting career was over, but I came back, I think,” said Keoghan.

Yet despite these setbacks, Keoghan boasts an impressive career. “Advice I give to younger people in general who have a love for something is to stay persistent and persevere and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t,” Keoghan said.

Many questions focused on Keoghan’s work on “Saltburn.” When discussing how improvisation played into his process, he said, “I just wanted to take it to a new level of obsession and the outline was there. I wanted to look like I didn’t know where to go, what I was doing,” he said.

When asked about Harvard’s recent controversy regarding allegations of anti-semitism, Keoghan said he wanted to focus on the award at hand.

This year’s show, “Heist, Heist, Baby!” will run in Farkas Hall through March 3. This year’s Woman of the Year was Annette Bening, with celebrations having taken place on Feb. 6.

—Staff writer Margo A. Silliman can be reached at margo.silliman@thecrimson.com.