Barry Keoghan Named Hasty Pudding Man of the Year

Academy Award-nominated Irish actor Barry Keoghan will be the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 2024 Man of the Year, according to a Friday announcement.

Keoghan was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe as best supporting actor in 2022 for his role in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” followed by a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the 2023 thriller “Saltburn.” He also starred in “Dunkirk,” “Eternals,” and “The Batman.”

Hasty Pudding annually presents a Man of the Year and Woman of the Year award to two celebrities. On Thursday, the organization announced that they had postponed the 2024 Woman of the Year celebration — originally scheduled for Friday — due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

A Hasty Pudding representative told The Crimson Friday that the group’s selection for Woman of the Year had a last-minute scheduling conflict, but that the recipient and the new date for the celebration, which includes a parade through Harvard Square, would be announced shortly.

The Man of the Year celebration honoring Keoghan, the 57th Man of the Year recipient, will be held at Farkas Hall on Feb. 2. Keoghan will attend a roast, be presented with a “Pudding Pot,” and view the premiere of Hasty Pudding’s annual student-written musical, titled “Heist Heist Baby.”

“We are feverishly locking up all gravesites and bathtubs in anticipation of Barry’s arrival to Harvard,” Hasty Pudding Theatricals Man of the Year Coordinator Aidan L. Golub ’23-24 wrote in a Friday press release, referring to viral scenes from “Saltburn.”

“With experience as both superhero and supervillain, Barry Keoghan is the perfect choice to fight to earn his Pudding pot February 2nd,” he added.

“We’re excited to see him dance through our day of celebrations, although we hope he understands birthday suit doesn’t count as black-tie,” wrote Hasty Pudding Theatricals producer L. Madison Pankey ’24.

Composed entirely of Harvard undergraduates, Hasty Pudding Theatricals is the third oldest theatrical group in the world, according to its website. The group has created and run an annual musical performance since 1844.

The Man of the Year award began in 1967 when it was awarded to Bob Hope. Past honorees have included actors Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and last year, Bob Odenkirk.

—Staff writer Madeleine A. Hung can be reached at madeleine.hung@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.