Barry Keoghan's shocking Saltburn grave scene wasn't actually scripted

This article contains spoilers

Saltburn may not be a festive film, but Emerald Fennell's drama-thriller-comedy was all the internet could talk about during that strange time between Christmas and New Year's. As the nation slipped into a Celebrations-induced daze, millions tuned in to see what the Saltburn fuss was really about - and many, unwisely, chose to pop it on as a family film. For those who haven't seen it yet, my advice is: don't. 

There's a lot to unpack in this film. It's a black comedy and Greek mythology-infused mystery thriller, populated by excessively rich and vacuous individuals, but muddled genres aside there are some specific scenes that have left social media aghast. Of course, there's that bath scene. Then there's the deranged pie eating. And let's not forget Barry Keoghan's naked wiggling to Murder on the Dancefloor. 

But one of the moments that has really stuck with viewers is the moment that Keoghan's character gets rather intimate with some grave soil. In the scene, Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) has just been laid to rest, and Oliver Quick (Keoghan) cries on his grave before stripping down to defile it. 

And while it has become one of the most talked about moments of Saltburn, it turns out that director Emerald Fennell hadn't actually planned for things to go that far in the original script. She told Entertainment Weekly: "I spoke to Barry in the morning, and I just said, 'I don't know, Barry. I think that he would... unzip.' And Barry just said, 'Yup.'"

Keoghan added: "She plants seeds, Emerald, you know what I mean? She knows that they're going to grow, these seeds, especially when she plants them with me. But it is a testament to Emerald and having that idea and me meeting it with, to be honest, no questions. I was totally on board for it."

He continued: "For me, it wasn't about fecking the grave, it was more about: I don't know what to do with this obsession; it's making me confused and making me un-human in a way. It was a total discovery for him, I think. And it was sad. It was very, very sad."

Fennell went on to call his performance 'the most extraordinary thing I'd ever seen'. 

If you're yet to watch it, Saltburn is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video. Oh, and choose your viewing party wisely.