When they’re not pretending to be at Oxford, here’s where the Saltburn cast actually went to uni

Set in the early 2000s, Saltburn perfectly encompassed what it was like to be at a prestigious university at the start of the 21st century. Not only did Jacob Elordi seamlessly nail the posh boy accent, but he really brought Felix to life and gave us an insight into what university culture was like. But of course, the cast of Saltburn didn’t really study at Oxford – not all of them, anyway. Here’s where the Saltburn cast went to uni.

Barry Keoghan – Bow Street Academy

While not technically a university, Barry studied acting at The Factory, now known as Bow Street Academy. Despite being a well known heartthrob, Barry remembers “not even having €2.20 to get the bus to The Factory when he attended the Dublin drama school.

Alison Oliver – Trinity College Dublin

Playing Venetia in Saltburn, Alison has a rich background in acting. She took drama, singing and dancing lessons at The Performer’s Academy and the Cork School of Dance before applying to Trinity College Dublin’s drama school, The Lir Academy. Alison took a year long foundation course in acting and theatre before completing the course. She graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in acting, before landing big roles, such as Frances in the movie adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends.

Rosamund Pike – University of Oxford

Who knew one of the Saltburn cast actually went to uni at Oxford? Believe it or not, Rosamund did actually attend the University of Oxford, graduating back in 2001 with a 2:1 honours degree. She only ended up there after she was turned down by every stage school she applied to, resulting in her taking up a place studying English literature at Wadham College, Oxford. That actually sounds like a win to me. She also took a year off to pursue her acting career, gaining stage experience in several plays by William Shakespeare.

Archie Madekwe – London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

Archie, who played Farleigh in the controversial film, began studying at The BRIT School at 14 years old, a performing and creative arts focused institution. As well as joining the National Youth Theatre, he went on to enrol at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), but left early when he was cast in Ian Rickson’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? on the West End.

Richard E. Grant – University of Cape Town

Richard Grant Esterhuysen began studying English and drama at the University of Cape Town in 1976. Since then, he’s gone on to act in a huge number of films including Horrid Henry: The Movie, The Hitman’s Bodyguard and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. He actually only got his stage name when he moved to Britain in 1982 and registered with Equity, the trade union for performing arts and entertainment industries.

Lolly Adefope – Loughborough University

Known for her parts in BBC One’s Ghosts, as well as playing Ruth Duggan on This Time With Alan Partridge, Ololade “Lolly” Adefope played Lady Daphne in Saltburn, the dinner guest who scolded Oliver for speaking to the person on his left before speaking to her – a cardinal sin in dinner party etiquette. Lolly studied English literature at Loughborough University, performing in a sketch comedy group while she was there.

Jacob Elordi – N/A

Despite his successful career, Jacob never actually went to university. After emigrating to Australia from the Basque Country at eight years old, he then went on to attend the Roman Catholic secondary schools of St Kevin’s College, and St Joseph’s College before his first acting role on the Australian film Swinging Safari in 2018. His career soon took off without a degree however, with his first experience on a Hollywood film on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as an extra leading to him landing the Netflix film trilogy, The Kissing Booth, as well as a role on the HBO drama series Euphoria.

Saltburn is streaming on Amazon Prime now. For all the best film, music, reality TV and entertainment news like this look at the Saltburn cast went to uni, like Pop Culture Shrine on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Are you more Felix or Oliver? Take this quiz to see which Saltburn heartthrob you’d be

• A-list stars and nepo babies: Inside Jacob Elordi’s long and winding relationship history

• Right, was Barry Keoghan wearing a prosthetic in THAT Saltburn final scene

Featured image via Instagram @richard.e.grant and @mspike