SAOIRSE RONAN - ACCOLADES

By Skye Huntington

Since bidding farewell to the teen roles that dominated her early career, Saoirse Ronan has successfully transitioned into a leading actor with roles in Brooklyn, The Seagull, Lady Bird and On Chesil Beach, showing a strong, dominant yet emotional side to what is a flourishing acting talent.

Indeed, it was her titular performance as teen schoolgirl Lady Bird in Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut that earned Ronan her largest plaudits yet – case in point, a win for Best Actress at the Golden Globes.  Ronan is the epitome of adolescent angst and hormones as a young woman trying to find her place in life while battling her mother (Laurie Metcalf) along the way.
But it is time to move on, and the Irish actress does that with consummate ease - her upward career trajectory now seeing her take on the titular role in Mary Queen of Scots, directed by Rosie Rourke and co-starring best buddy Margot Robbie.

The 24-year-old is chatty and warm as she talks about her new film, relationships with her parents and why she feels due a bout of teen rebellion.

STRIPLV: You’ve played so many different time periods in your film career, but you’ve never done something this far back in time as Mary Queen of Scots. Is that something which has intrigued you for a while, the idea of playing the role of a character who existed centuries ago?
RONAN: Well, I signed up to do Mary Queen of Scots when I was 18 years old. So, I’ve been very much attached to this project for about five or six years. As I was leaving my teens and coming into – I suppose – womanhood myself, Mary has always been in the back of my mind. She’s always been someone who has sort of stayed with me, and while we were waiting to see when we were actually going to make the film, I was always thinking about when we were going to do it, how we were going to do it, who we were going to do it with. I think eventually when it all came together, Josie (Rourke, the film’s director) Beau (Willimon, the screenplay writer) and I had so much time to immerse ourselves in that period with the work that those two had done on it together. Also, John Guy’s book (Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart) which the script is inspired by. It’s a fascinating time period and there’s so much tension even when it comes to waiting for a letter to arrive. So, Mary and Elizabeth’s (Queen Elizabeth I) whole relationship was based on that for a very long period of time.
STRIPLV: It’s a good job they weren’t on WhatsApp or texting, isn’t it.
RONAN: (Laughs) Yeah, imagine. “I know she read it; there’s the blue ticks!” But, yeah, it means that there is this incredibly tense relationship that has built up over the years between them without having actually meeting. And it was a really fantastic character to play for me.
STRIPLV: It was great that you and Margot Robbie made this movie together and you’re kind of at odds with each other, and then you both got nominated for a Best Actress Oscar – you for Lady Bird and Margot for I, Tonya.
RONAN: Yeah, I think we probably spent more time together when we were doing the awards circuit than we did when we were actually shooting together. But there is incredible support that we have for each other, and I think that it was new territory for both of us and I think it was something that made us both feel quite vulnerable in a great way. We were really being challenged by the story and Josie and also all of the other brilliant actors that we had, as well as taking on the role of these two very fierce women.
STRIPLV: Your fantastic ability to do accents is another fascinating thing. How, as a person from Ireland, is it different from doing a Scottish accent and before that a Sacramento Californian lady?
RONAN: The Sacramento accent was so much harder because the Scottish accent is different to an Irish accent, but they are very, very melodic and very muscular. Whereas a Sacramento accent is – and don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s sort of lazy and such. But it’s easier to do if you make it sound like a song and that’s much flatter, beautiful, but flat. I love doing the Scottish accent and the Sacramento accents and all the accents in the world.
STRIPLV: Tell us about your friendship with Margot Robbie.
RONAN: She’s my buddy. We genuinely had such a laugh on the set, and when you know you’re going to some event, you might be a bit wrecked or whatever but then I’ll find out Margot’s going and I’m like, “Yes, it’s going to be a good night.”
STRIPLV: A lot of your roles look at family relationships – does that say a lot for you regarding your upbringing?
RONAN: I’m very close to my parents; I have different relationships with them, but it’s still really tight. I’m an only child so we were this little unit growing up, particularly with my mother. I think for everyone, it’s the most important relationship and I’m not diminishing what I have with my dad, but maybe we’re two women, we understand each other. She traveled with me when I first started out working and was always my protector and shielded me from the effects of the industry, she’s my best friend and always will be.
STRIPLV: Have you had blow-outs?
RONAN: Again, we have a pretty smooth, solid dialogue, there’s never any Scorpioness between us. The relationship with your mom is the most important relationship you ever have in your life, in terms of those formative years. Your mom is your mom.
STRIPLV: Were you a teen rebel?
RONAN: I skipped the rebellious phase. So it’s coming, look out mam and dad. (Laughs) I don’t know, I think that typical kind of rebellion comes from a feeling of being trapped and I never had that while I was in my teenage years because I was very much free and out in the world, working on all these different movies, having these liberating experiences and meeting really some wonderful people, it would have been strange to feel hemmed in while doing all that. And I’m a big rule follower, I am. Never break the rules, couldn’t do that. (Laughs)
STRIPLV: Are you the sort of person who pines for those teen things like graduating and college that you never got to experience?
RONAN: I wouldn’t go back and change anything. What I would say is acting gives me a little insight into what it might be like to experience things I didn’t. That is definitely one of the advantages of being an actor, getting a slice of life you might not ordinarily experience.
STRIPLV: Were you planning on college at any point?
RONAN: I did want to go but then life got in the way. Maybe I will go in the future, who knows. Of course, I also want to be able to earn money and afford a good life for my family should I ever have one. But I want to do that while I am able to put all my heart into my work and continue acting in projects that I believe in because acting is something I love very deeply.
STRIPLV: You’ve said before you’ve talked of periods in your career where there was a lull that worried you. You’re long past that now but how do you look back at that stage?
RONAN: Yeah, there was a period before Brooklyn where I was like, “I need something to take off,” because I hadn’t been in anything for a while that had been a hit and it does affect your career, it does affect your marketability, for want of a better way of saying it. It’s not a nice reality, but it’s the reality of the business. Plus, I was 20, 21 at the time, going through that period where it was a transition from the teen years, to young adult and it’s tricky and unknown, and you start second guessing yourself and second-guessing decisions you made. Maybe I should have done that etc. It’s the nature of the job. But no, Brooklyn was that sort of transitioning to the adult world, roles for me and it’s incredible how one role because that’s all it takes, one part can change everything.
STRIPLV: So Brooklyn did that for you?
RONAN: It changed the trajectory of my career, yeah. I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to do some of the more recent work I’m doing now without it, for sure.
STRIPLV: The sexual harassment controversy, what is your take on it and how did it make you feel?
RONAN: I think my overwhelming emotion was disappointment. It wasn’t a shock that it was going on, everyone knew there were certain elements of predatory behavior happening, but I think the real shock was frequency and sheer the huge number of people preyed upon that was so disturbing.
It makes me sad that people, people that I know and worked with, were going through this and suffering in silence and feeling unsafe when they stepped onto a film set and hopefully after this, because I hope it doesn’t just fade away, that no one will ever again feel unsafe on a film set.
STRIPLV: Did you ever experience anything?
RONAN: I was hugely protected by my parents, and my mom was always there. But one thing that I’ve realized, it’s started to make me think over my own experience with producers and people, talking or acting in a way that wasn’t right and realizing now, that’s not ok. That’s not right.
STRIPLV: Much was made of Greta Gerwig’s inclusion in the awards circuit category for directing because she’s a woman. Does it make you mad to think this is still a topic?
RONAN: I’ve never seen it like, “Oh now I’m being directed by a woman, this is going to be a very different, unique experience.” I’m non-gender-specific like that, they’re either a good director or a bad director to me. And actually, my first movie ever was with a women director, so it’s never been something I’ve sort of sought out. I’ve worked with lots of female directors. Perhaps that’s a naïve approach because clearly, there’s been an imbalance, to say the least. But all anyone can be a good director, a good filmmaker, and try their best to ignore what’s going on around them.
STRIPLV: Would you like to direct?
RONAN: I’m terrified of the prospect. But watching Greta, the idea is a lot more appealing. Scary but appealing. And this was her first film, and she was so open and collaborative with the actors, it was a good lesson.
STRIPLV: What’s the whole Oscar experience like?
RONAN: I think my favorite part is the community aspect, going through this circuit and always seeing the same people, having the same experiences. You grow closer and bond, it’s a unique experience, and it’s that closeness which excites me.