Barry Keoghan, who has recently seen much success (including an Oscar nomination for The Banshees Of Inisherin), is now taking advantage of the moment by starting some personal projects. One of the projects he has been wanting to make for a while is a biopic on Billy the Kid.
Keoghan has noted to Deadline the prevalence of depictions of Billy the Kid on screen. His intention, then, is to tell a different version of the outlaw’s story that does not conform to the accustomed, stereotyped version of a stoic gunslinger. He plans to humanize the character in a new way.
Keoghan will be back with Layton to tell a story that focuses on Keoghan’s Irish roots and challenging upbringing. At the age of fifteen, Henry McCarty (Keoghan’s real name) had already lost his mother and his stepfather had left him. A year later, the first time arrest for robbery was made and by eighteen, he was sought after for killing a person in Arizona. Once his reputation grew, he was killed when he was twenty-one by Sheriff Pat Garrett.
Keoghan, who was raised in a foster home, feels a closeness with Billy. He talks about how, as they prepared for the project, there were many revelations about his life that he didn’t know before. There are several accounts from people who saw or knew him, and various versions of his story which do not agree, yet made up the folklore surrounding him.
He managed to convince Layton to take part in American Animals as they became more aware of the story. Layton remarks that the notion of Billy the Kid that is typically perceived is adopted from comics. However, after studying and talking more about it, Layton felt it was something Barry was meant to portray. Layton believes there is an element of a child in a corner that Barry empathizes with and while Billy is eminent for his violence, not all of it was intentional or done with premeditation; much of it was driven by the situations at hand.
Hunter Andrews has finished writing the new version of the screenplay and filming will likely commence during the beginning of next year.