Christopher Abbott Plays a Sheep Farmer Caught in a Deadly Feud with Barry Keoghan in Trailer for Irish Revenge Thriller “Bring Them Down”

Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan Face Off in the Irish Revenge Thriller About a Tense Feud Between Rival Sheep Farmers

Since breaking out on the HBO show Girls, Christopher Abbott has carved out a significant niche for himself as a reliable and versatile actor who can appear in just about anything you give him to play. Whether in Oscar-nominated films (Poor Things), superhero misfires (Kraven the Hunter), indie darlings (Martha Marcy May Marlene), horror head-scratchers (Possessor), Golden Globe-nominated miniseries (Catch-22), or on the Broadway stage (The House of Blue Leaves), Abbott can adapt to virtually any role.

Despite frequently being compared to Game of Thrones star Kit Harington for their similar resemblance, Abbott might be on the verge of breaking big this year. Next week, he’ll transform into a hideous Wolf Man in writer-director Leigh Whannell's new horror film, which is expected to do well at the box office and serve as a considerable showcase for Abbott's talents as a leading man. However, for those who shy away from the blood and guts of horror films and prefer something with a more arthouse flavor, you're in luck—Christopher Abbott puts on an Irish accent to play a sheep farmer embroiled in an escalating feud with a local Irish family in the upcoming Irish revenge thriller Bring Them Down.

Abbott shares the screen with Irish actor Barry Keoghan as they portray characters on opposite sides of a tense conflict sparked by an accusation of sheep theft. Abbott plays a sheep farmer struggling to keep his farm afloat, while Keoghan’s character comes from a rival sheep farming family. The problem arises from the nature of sheep—they tend to wander beyond boundaries and end up on other people's properties. The question of which sheep belongs where becomes the catalyst for an escalating feud that ultimately boils over into a heated showdown.

Bring Them Down marks the feature film debut of writer-director Chris Andrews. The film, which premiered to mostly positive reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, has since won the Best Debut Director Award at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards.

In addition to Abbott and Keoghan, the cast also includes veteran Irish character actor Colm Meaney (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hell on Wheels) alongside Nora-Jane Noone (The Descent), Paul Ready (Utopia), and Susan Lynch (Waking Ned Devine).

Bring Them Down has been picked up by the arthouse film distributor and streaming platform MUBI, the same distribution label behind the body horror sensation The Substance. The film will open in U.S. theaters on February 7th and will also debut for streaming on MUBI following its theatrical run.