Crime 101 director reveals he wrote Barry Keoghan's role as a wildcard criminal especially for him, as his co-star Chris Hemsworth praises his "magnetic" performance

In Crime 101, there are three key players that the main action orbits around: Chris Hemsworth's jewellery thief Mike, Mark Ruffalo's LAPD detective Lou, and Halle Berry's insurance broker Sharon. That is, until their worlds are upended by the arrival of Ormon, played by Barry Keoghan, which also serves to throw the whole film thrillingly off balance.

Director Bart Layton previously worked with Keoghan on 2018's American Animals, a docudrama about a book heist at a Kentucky university. Crime 101 is his first time in the director's chair since, and he wrote a role specifically for Keoghan in the movie. "We have a long relationship, and I wrote that character for him, knowing that he would do it," Layton tells GamesRadar+.

Keoghan plays Ormon, an unpredictable, dangerous young thief brought in to replace Mike when his handler fears he's gone soft. Ormon is anything but, and his actions threaten to unravel everything for Mike, Lou, and Sharon.

"We tried to keep things organic and not overthought," Layton continues. "He's such an instinctive and natural actor that I kind of try and bring him in at the last minute. We talk about the backstory of the character; we talk about who he is and where he's come from. And in this case, Barry has grown up in a pretty tough environment, and he knows kids very like the character he plays in this, who've not had much in the way of emotional support or love or adult supervision. He knows them well.

(Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)

"So there are things that he brings, details that he brings, that I wouldn't have written, because he's bringing that from his experience, and I tried to create a framework for him and enough information, enough detail, for him to feel very liberated. He has this very rare combination of very dangerous, but also at the same time very vulnerable, and that's, I think, the magnetic thing."

Hemsworth shares Layton's feelings about his co-star's work. "[He] brings electricity to the set and there's nothing left in the bag, you know, it is all sort of thrown out there, and gives it absolutely everything," the actor tells us. "And it's this sort of wild, unpredictable quality, which is, like, intimidating, and it's magnetic. [He's an] incredible performer."

Crime 101 arrives in theaters on February 13. For more on what to watch, check out our guide to the other biggest movie release dates in 2026.