W Magazine has published a great new interview with Saoirse, as well as a very interesting photoshoot, which you can see on our photo gallery. Read the article below.
SAOIRSE RONAN: QUEEN OF HEARTS
Actress Saoirse Ronan, star of the coming-of-age romance Brooklyn, is stealing them left and right.
“I’ve had to spell out my name for confused people my entire life,” said Saoirse (pronounced Sear-sha) Ronan, the star of Brooklyn, in theaters this month. Ronan was calling from her home in Ireland, not far from Enniscorthy, where the film was shot. Brooklyn is based on the Colm Tóibín novel about a young Irish girl who immigrates to America in the 1950s; following a family tragedy, she must choose between her new life in New York and her former one, in Ireland. It’s an old-fashioned story, in the best sense. At a time when strong heroines of the non–comic book variety are increasingly rare, Eilis Lacey, as played by Ronan, is spirited, confused, independent, and unique. “She’s complex, but I would say, somewhat proudly, that Eilis is Irish,” Ronan continued. “And being Irish is part of the reason I never wanted to change my name, even when it was strongly suggested. Saoirse means ‘freedom.’ And my middle name, Una, means ‘unity.’ Freedom and unity—that’s quite a lot to live up to.”
Ronan, who is 21, actually was born in the Bronx. Her parents left their native Ireland in the ’80s in search of work. In New York, Ronan’s mother was employed as a nanny and her father tended bar at a place that was popular with actors from the Irish Repertory Theatre. “They convinced my dad to audition for a play,” Ronan said. “He did it as a lark, but got the part.” When Ronan was 3, her family returned to Ireland; her dad, whose acting career was starting to take off, noticed that she loved being filmed. “I am an only child, and I would disappear into my own world. I staged long, intricate soap operas with my dolls. My father saw that I was drawn to the camera, and I think he felt it took me out of myself.”
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