Riley Keough says having ‘first film’ at Cannes same year as ‘Elvis’ was ‘so meaningful’

Riley Keough shared her experience in an interview with Net-a-Porter of having her first directorial, War Pony, being played at 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

In the same year Baz Luhrmann premiered his high-octane, multi-award-winning movie about her grandfather, Elvis Presley.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” recalled Keough, whose gritty drama War Pony was awarded the Camera d’Or for best debut. “It’s so crazy to have your first film get into Cannes. And to have Elvis there the same year was so meaningful.”

Keough is currently starring as the titular character in Prime Video’s adaptation of Fleetwood Mac’s book, Daisy Jones & The Six.

The actress was 20 when she made her film debut in The Runaways (about the 1970s all-girl rock group), playing Dakota Fanning’s sister, and she has worked consistently ever since. She had decided to embark on an acting career after a modelling stint as a teenager.

Her big break came when she appeared in in 2015 after her blockbuster movie Mad Max: Fury Road followed by the indie film Zola in 2020.

For Keough, being recognised at Cannes meant a lot more than just having her name on a trophy; it was about finally being validated, the outlet detailed.

Keough admitted that in the past she “found it easier to sort of disengage and play dumb. I think it’s years of being a female, going, ‘Please listen, I know what I’m talking about’ – and then it not amounting to anything… So, it was a moment, as a woman, where you go, ‘F--k you’. I am not here by accident. I put a lot of work in to be here.”