Category: Interviews

Saoirse for Document Journal

Saoirse for Document Journal


Saoirse Ronan and Grace Coddington are artists in the craft of character-building

DOCUMENT JOURNAL – Saoirse Ronan was 16 when she did her first Vogue photoshoot, under the creative direction of Grace Coddington. Then a rising star with the first of an eventual four Oscar nominations under her belt, the young actor used her considerable ability to fully embody Pre-Raphaelite muses, gazing at the heavens as an exquisitely doomed Ophelia, and running through overgrown castle gardens and untamed forests as a rogue Arthurian queen. The shoot is the perfect distillation of their shared capacity to convey an entire story in a single moment, with Ronan as its subject and Coddington as its mastermind. Photographed by Steven Meisel, the portraits beckon you into the fantastical world of a flaming-haired, barefooted woman, consumed in dramas of lore and legend—exactly the kind of mesmerizing, narratively rich images which characterize Coddington’s decades-long reign as American Vogue’s creative director. In the foreword Ronan later wrote for Grace: The American Vogue Years (Phaidon), she expressed a sentiment common among those who have been lucky enough to work with the fashion editor: “A fire as bright as her hair is brought to everything she makes room for in her heart. A burst of character and brilliance!”
Continue reading

Saoirse Plays “Knowing Me, Knowing You” (Video)

Saoirse Ronan Plays ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You ‘About Her ‘See How They Run’ Co-Stars

ELLE UK – ‘There’s too many people in this cast!’ Saoirse Ronan jokingly groans during a game of Knowing Me, Knowing You, to mark the release of See How They Run.

The Irish actor, best known for bringing Jo March to life in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women, embodying Mary Queen of Scots in the film of the same name, portraying a relatable angsty teen in Lady Bird and garnering her first (of four) Oscar nomination at the age of 13 for her role in Atonement, c0-leads a pretty impressive ensemble cast in her latest film.

Ronan plays an ambitious police officer paired with seasoned, yet unorthodox, detective (Sam Rockwell), in a ‘whodunnit’ murder mystery comedy where the scene of the crime is a theatre (showing London’s long-running production, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap).

The production, directed by This Country’s Tom George, has a very impressive cast, hence Ronan’s struggle to pick the correct co-star in answer to our trivia questions. Joining Ronan and Rockwell are David Oyelowo, Ruth Wilson, Adrien Brody, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Reece Shearsmith and Harris Dickinson.

Ronan and Oscar-winner Rockwell shared all of their scenes together and forged a friendship off screen too, with Ronan telling us: ‘He’s the best. I’d only heard wonderful things about him as a person. He’s just one of the most exciting actors that we have. I had the best time working with Sam Rockwell, he feels like a proper friend now.’

Another actor – though not in this film – that she has a fond association with is Brad Pitt. Ronan was held as a baby by the Troy actor when she was brought onto set by her father Paul who was filming The Devil’s Own, with Pitt.

‘I hope he doesn’t get weirded out by this… that I’ve spent years telling people that he held me as a child. My mission is to make sure his children also know that I was held by Brad Pitt as a child,’ she jokes.

Upon learning that her co-star Shearsmith has previously said his most prized possession is part of The Wicker Man, signed by Sir Christopher Lee, Ronan divulged that hers is something she was gifted after shooting Little Women alongside Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen and Timothée Chalamet.

‘My favourite thing that was given to me was a copy of Little Women but by Jo March because there’s a whole sequence at the end of the movie where she gets her book published… I have a copy of it and Jo’s name is underneath the title which is very special.’

See How They Run is in cinemas from September 9th.

(Video) Saoirse talks to Gold Derby

Gold Derby has released a new interview with Saoirse! She talked to senior editor Joyce Eng about the evolution of “Mary Queen of Scots” through the years, the misconceptions about Mary Stuart and working with Margot Robbie on that one climactic scene in the film. You can watch it below.

(Video) Saoirse talks to BBC Radio 1

Saoirse talked to BBC Radio 1’s Ali Plumb, who’s one of our favorite interviewers, about some of her most important roles to date – in movies such as “Brooklyn”, “Lady Bird” and, of course, “Mary Queen of Scots”. You can watch it below.

Saoirse & Margot Robbie talk to Andrew Marr

Saoirse & Margot Robbie talk to Andrew Marr

Saoirse visited The Andrew Marr Show with co-star Margot Robbie and director Josie Rourke earlier today! They talked about Mary Queen of Scots and how faithful it is to history, as well as their thoughts on bringing these powerful monarchs to life.

Saoirse covers Harper’s Bazaar UK

Saoirse covers Harper’s Bazaar UK

Saoirse is in the February cover of Harper’s Bazaar UK! She talked to Erica Wagner about British monarchs, Irish borders and whether history will repeat itself in the age of Brexit. The featured images, as well as the cover, have been added to our photo gallery. You can read the article below!



Saoirse Ronan on British monarchs, Irish borders and Mary Queen of Scots
Continue reading

Saoirse talks to The Wall Street Journal

Saoirse talks to The Wall Street Journal

Saoirse talked to The Wall Street Journal in order to promote “Mary Queen of Scots”! Two images were released with the article, and they were added to our photo gallery. You can read the complete text below.

Saoirse Ronan Would Rather Be Knitting
The ascendant star, now playing ‘Mary Queen of Scots,’ prefers to spend her off-time out of the limelight—and get through the grocery store incognito

With star turns in last year’s “Lady Bird” and the new period epic “Mary Queen of Scots,” out Dec. 7, the Irish actress Saoirse Ronan has catapulted into Hollywood’s top ranks. But she prefers to spend her off time out of the limelight: The 24-year-old’s favorite pastimes include knitting, cooking and reading history. “I don’t go to a lot of clubs because I’m busy knitting,” she jokes. “I just knit and read history books.” She laughs and shakes her head, adding, “Now nobody will want to read this interview.”

Ms. Ronan’s interest in history won’t come as a surprise to those who have followed her career. Her breakout role, as a teen whose lie wreaks havoc in “Atonement” (2007), was set largely in 1930s and ’40s England. In “Brooklyn” (2015), she played an Irish immigrant in 1950s New York who’s pulled between her homeland and her new life. She’s now filming “Little Women,” playing Jo March in the movie based on Louisa May Alcott’s 19th-century classic.

Continue reading

Saoirse & Margot Robbie talk to the NY Times

Saoirse & Margot Robbie talk to the NY Times

A new interview with Saoirse and her “Mary Queen of Scots” co-star Margot Robbie has been published by The New York Times! The portrait released with it has been added to our gallery, and you can read the article below.

Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie Are Coming Into Their Power
The “Mary Queen of Scots” stars and former Oscar rivals are tired of being people-pleasers. “There’s a lot of power in saying no,” says Robbie.

When Josie Rourke made her pitch to direct “Mary Queen of Scots,” about the royal rivalry between the Scottish ruler Mary Stuart and the English Queen Elizabeth I, she suggested thinking of the movie as a renaissance version of “Heat.” Like that thriller, which cast Al Pacino and Robert De Niro on opposite sides of the law, “what the film needed was a really great scene for two women to play opposite each other,” Rourke said.

Much of “Mary Queen of Scots” (due Friday) builds to that moment when Mary and Elizabeth finally meet — a cinematic flourish, as historians believe the two communicated only by letter. The film’s scene is the sort of centerpiece that only works if you know the women playing it are formidably matched equals offscreen, too. In casting Margot Robbie as Elizabeth opposite Saoirse Ronan’s Mary, Rourke found a pair so well-matched that they even competed against each other for last season’s best actress Oscar.

Continue reading