Category: Interviews

Interview for the IFTN

The Irish Film and Television Network caught up with Saoirse at the Galway Film Fleadh on Saturday, accompanied by her father Paul, to talk about her recent roles, the state of the Irish film industry and her memories of ‘Sopranos’ star James Gandolfini. Read the interview below:

Saoirse, thanks very much for taking the time to talk to IFTN. How important do you think the Galway Film Fleadh is for the Irish film industry?
It’s my first time at the Galway Film Fleadh but my Dad comes every year and it seems like one of the most important ones because it’s retained a very traditional festival feel. It hasn’t gotten too glamorous or become so massive that it’s more about the red carpet than anything else. I think that some festivals get too carried away with the glamour of it all. But here everyone’s in jeans and very relaxed, going around catching a few films, which is how a festival should be! I’m looking forward to chatting to other filmmakers here like Marian Quinn and all those people I really admire and look up to.

Your performance as a vampire in ‘Byzantium’ was widely praised by critics as one of the strongest parts of the film. What was the experience like working with Neil Jordan?
I really enjoyed it! I was a bit nervous at first doing anything that involved vampires or that sort of genre, because it’s been done quite a bit recently. So I was a bit worried about that until I read the script and realised how original a story it was. And also the fact that Neil had taken on a script that he hadn’t written himself really said something about Moira’s work. It was a great experience. We shot it in Dublin. We had an Irish crew. We had a fantastic cast with the likes of Gemma and Sam and Tom Hollander. And it was very exciting as well that Neil was able to put his stamp on the genre again.

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Interviews Press

Published

by Jess

on Jul 16, 2013

Press Association Interview about “Byzantium”

A new interview about the film “Byzantium” has been released by the Press Association earlier today. Watch it below:

Published

by Jess

on May 26, 2013

Glamour UK Interview about “Byzantium”

Saoirse has recently given Glamour UK an interview about her upcoming film, “Byzantium”. Watch it below:

Byzantium Interviews Videos

Published

by Jess

on May 26, 2013

Heyuguys Interview about “Byzantium”

A new interview with Saoirse about the film “Byzantium” has been released! Watch it below:

Source: Access Saoirse

Interviews Videos

Published

by Jess

on May 26, 2013

[Interview] Saoirse talks with Telegraph

A new interview of Saoirse for the website Telegraph has been released. She talks about her family, her co-stars and, of course, her career. Read the complete article below:

Spend time with Saoirse Ronan and you will hear an awful lot about her parents, the family pet – and some of the biggest names in film.

We are talking about how she keeps in touch with home (a small village in County Carlow, Ireland) when she is away on set and she has just admitted to Skype-ing her border collie. ‘Mam doesn’t really like Skype because you have to do your hair. She’d prefer to chat to you on the phone. She sends me like five photos a day of the dog: Sassy eating toast, Sassy sunbathing, Sassy going for a walk, things like that.’

That Ronan’s speech is also peppered with casual references to ‘Pete’, ‘Mick’ and ‘Ryan’ – as in the director Peter Jackson and actors Michael Fassbender and Ryan Gosling – takes a little getting used to. ‘The thing is, I forget about people I want to work with and then suddenly, thank God so far, they’ve kind of popped up,’ she says brightly.

Recently Stephenie Meyer, the author of the bestselling Twilight trilogy, ‘popped up’. Meyer flew to Dublin to talk to Ronan about the lead in the film based on her 2008 sci-fi novel, The Host. After meeting the film’s director, Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show), Ronan couldn’t refuse. ‘I think it could be one of those films,’ she says. ‘A lot of people are saying it is going to be the next Twilight. I don’t know if it is, to be honest, because that was so huge, that took over from Harry Potter, and it’s going to be a while, I think, before that kind of thing has such an impact again.’

This is new territory for 18-year-old Ronan, who claims that people only know her name in Ireland (her first name rhymes, ironically, with ‘inertia’). Overseas, she’s still ‘the girl from… ’

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Articles Interviews Projects

Published

by Jess

on Apr 05, 2013

LA Times Interview & Photoshoot

A new interview of Saoirse for LA Times has been released! She talks about what drew her attention to “The Host”, the romantic scenes of the film, her choice of becoming an actress and much more. You can read the interview below, and make sure you check out the new portrait that was released with the article by clicking on the thumbnail. Enjoy!

Saoirse (pronounced SIR-sha, “like inertia”) Ronan plays an alien and a human in the same body in the new romantic sci-fi film “The Host,” based on a book by “Twilight” series author Stephenie Meyer. Ronan, who turns 19 in April, is already a seasoned thespian, with an Oscar nod for her performance in 2007’s “Atonement.”

Are you a fan of the “Twilight” vampire romance book and film series and its author, Stephenie Meyer? Is that what drew you to “The Host”?

Yes, that was definitely one of the draws for me to work with Stephenie. I had read the first “Twilight” book when I was 14 and really liked how clear she made something like first love and discovering yourself. I haven’t seen many of the films, to be honest — I think I saw the first one and the last one, but it was more the books that I liked.

PHOTOS: Movies Sneaks 2013

In “The Host,” you play two characters in one body at the same time. How did you build them and distinguish between the two in your acting?

I wanted to make sure that the characters were strong enough on their own that they were able to bounce off one another yet still work in harmony throughout the story. So we started to develop what kind of accents they would have. And it made sense for one to be very well spoken, very articulate, in every way calm and serene and positive. Whereas Melanie [the human] really moves and when she speaks it’s fight talk.

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Articles Interviews Photoshoots

Published

by Jess

on Mar 31, 2013

Exclusive Interview with JustJared

JJ caught up with Saoirse to get the scoop on what it was like working with Max Irons, as well as their co-stars Diane Kruger and Jake Abel. Read the complete interview below!

JustJared.com: What was your favorite off-screen moment while shooting.
Saoirse Ronan: Max and I went to have dance lessons for the swing dance montage scene that we have. And we went to see this guy, I think his name’s Ralph or Ray, or something like that. And he was just so cool…but he was quite small. And he was a great guy, so we had really fun times doing that.

JJ: Did both of you pick it up at the same time or was one a better dancer than the other?
SR: I was a better dancer! I picked it up before Max did. Max needed to just relax a little bit. And I kept taking the lead, which I always do anyways whenever I dance.

JJ: I thought he said he was a break dancer when he was younger.
SR: Yea, he did this break dance Grease mix tape at a disco when he was like ten years old. He was like ‘Oh yea, I won this dance competition once!’ And we were like ‘Oh my God, when was that and what did you do and stuff?’ ‘I was like ten years old at a camp! I don’t know if anyone else danced’ I wonder if it’s on Youtube!

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