Saoirse Ronan’s Year of Transformation

There’s an unforgettable authenticity that Saoirse Ronan brings to every role she inhabits—whether it’s Jo March in Little Women or the titular Lady Bird in Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age classic. This past year, the 30-year-old Irish star proved her mastery of the full range of human emotions with two strikingly different yet equally commanding performances. In The Outrun, an adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s 2016 memoir, Ronan plays an alcoholic at rock bottom. Upon moving back to her childhood home on Scotland’s remote Orkney Islands, she struggles to stay sober while confronting her past. Punctuated by chaotic flashbacks and scenes of the islands’ tumultuous weather patterns, the film—which Ronan produced alongside her husband, Jack Lowden—offers a profound meditation on recovery and redemption. Meanwhile, in Steve McQueen’s Blitz, Ronan portrays a single mother navigating the harrowing realities of life in London during Germany’s relentless bombing campaign in World War II. Forced to evacuate her young son, she must summon the courage to keep calm and carry on, even as the uncertainty of his fate looms over her every step.

Let’s start with The Outrun. How did that film come into your life?

Through my partner in crime, life, and love, Jack Lowden. He had been introduced to the book a few years before, had never read it, and then we were in lockdown. When he finished the book, he handed it to me and he said, "This is the next role that you have to play."

One of the intriguing qualities of your character, Rona, is that she is very fragile. She is conflicted about her sobriety.

So many people I have spoken to who have been in recovery for 10, 20, 30 years will say they still miss their substance of choice. That doesn't go away. It's just about trying to find joy in other places that can outweigh the feeling you got when you started using.

Your character works on the family farm and delivers a lamb. Did you actually do that?

Yes. About six months before we started principal photography, I went with a micro crew to the farm on the Orkney Islands. At 4:30 a.m., we went into a shed with 50 sheep and we waited for one of them to go into labor. And trust me, you know when they’ve gone into labor. It’s quite graphic. It’s very much the same as a woman giving birth—it’s bloody, there's mucus, and it's gross. But I kind of loved it. I know Demi [Moore] said she's the same—she's fascinated by the gore. I had a lot of substances, let's say, on my hands by the end of the day. In total, I delivered seven lambs. Everyone called me the Mother of Lambs by the end. I felt like the Daenerys of the Orkney Islands.

How soon after that movie did you make Blitz?

Probably six weeks after we finished The Outrun. I find it quite difficult to go into a movie that soon after finishing another one. The good thing about Blitz was that it wasn't all on my shoulders in the way that it was in The Outrun.

There’s an important scene in Blitz in which you sing.

Singing really makes me nervous. It puts you in a very vulnerable position. Even talking about it now makes me nervous. But I’ve always wanted to do a movie musical. I loved the process of learning how to use my voice properly and being able to hit notes that I didn't think I'd ever be able to hit.

Do you have a favorite reality show?

Married at First Sight: Australia. The Aussies are extra! As they say it themselves, they are so hectic. They take it somewhere else. I skipped the American version and the one in the U.K. I’ve gone straight to Australia.

Do you follow up to see if the couples stay together?

Yes—none of them do! Shocker.

Are you superstitious?

I am. I constantly think I'm going to die or people who I love are going to die if I don't do certain things. I don't know if that's superstitious or just neurotic. I think it's a bit of both.

What things do you think you have to do, like salt over your shoulder?

Yeah, I always do salt over my shoulder. I try not to walk under ladders or scaffolding. You know the metal grating on the pathway? An ex-boyfriend said to me once that he won’t walk on three in a row. He has to skip the third one. I still do that now.

Do you get starstruck?

Only with musicians or people from TV. I saw Amy Poehler recently, and I died. When I met Stevie Nicks, I died and went to heaven. If I met someone from Married at First Sight, I would freak out. I would die. But we’re not hectic enough for them.

Hair by Bryce Scarlett at the Wall Group; makeup by Nina Park for Dior Beauty at Kalpana.

Style Director: Allia Alliata di Montereale. Hair for portfolio by Paul Hanlon at Dawes & Co.; makeup for portfolio by Sam Visser at Art Partner; manicures for portfolio by Michelle Saunders James. Set design by Gerard Santos at Lalaland.

Creative producer to Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott: Leonard Cuinet-Petit at January Productions; producer to Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott: Kevin Isabelle; produced by AP Studio, Inc.; executive producer: Alexis Piqueras; producer: Anneliese Kristedja; associate producer: Kimmy D’Ancona; production manager: Hayley Stephon; production coordinators: Miranda Dos Santos, Susan Lucas; photography assistants: John Neate, Jed Barnes, Chris Whitaker, Kendall Peck; digital technician: Niccolo Pacilli; digital assistant: Cassian Gray; postproduction by Dreamer Post Production; fashion assistants: Tyler VanVranken, Molly Cody, Celeste Roh, Raea Palmieri, Tatiana Isshac, Haleigh Nickerson, Lauren Marron, Savannah Steilner, Sage McKee, Frankie Benkovic, Kaley Azambuja, Tatum Sanchez; production assistants: Gigi Rosenfield, Lily Cordingley, Eli Cash, Lex Vaughn, Anderson Renno, Kat Saravia, Kyle Dekker, Wyatt Noble, Brandon Martin, Moose Krupski, Josh Muwwakkil, Bradley Gonsalves, Drew Carter, Thomas Lynch, Alex Kofman, Jackson Schrader, Anatalia Zavaleta, Joseph Wride, Matt Flynn; first AD: Steve Kemp; location manager: Kyle Hollinger; hair assistants: Kim Garduno, Ben Gregory, Marco Iafrate, Hyacinthia Faustino, Chris Foster; makeup assistants: Shimu Takanori, Laura Dudley, Brian Dean, Beatrice Sandoval; manicure assistant: Cheyenne Vander Schuur; set design assistants: Seth Powsner, Denver Stoddard, Ryan Johnson; tailors: Irina Tshartaryan, Ripsime Vartanyan, Jackie Martirosyan at Susie’s Custom Designs, Inc.