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Saoirse Ronan talks The Outrun, Blitz and husband Jack Lowden

Posted on by Vanessa
Saoirse Ronan talks The Outrun, Blitz and husband Jack Lowden

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NEW YORK – Saoirse Ronan doesn't know what day it is.

In recent weeks, the brilliant Irish actress has crisscrossed the continents promoting her latest awards contenders: “The Outrun” (in theaters Friday), a lyrical drama about a recovering alcoholic, and “Blitz” (in theaters on November 1st, in stream on November 22nd). on Apple TV+), an intimate epic from World War II. Between all the red carpets, festivals and interviews, Ronan is delirious.

“I've just arrived from London, so I'm a bit wondering, 'Who am I?' What am I saying? What are words?' She grins, curled up on a couch in the green room in a casual black suit. Air travel was fueled by “a good dose of escapism”. I started watching “Hacks” last night, which I love. I also finished The Perfect Couple – it’s amazing!”

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It's Ronan's first time back on the promotional tour since 2019's Little Women. Although she has appeared in a handful of films since then, their releases have been limited by COVID-19 and the Hollywood strikes. That's partly why fans were shocked and delighted when she showed up at the Emmy Awards last month with her new husband, “Slow Horses” star Jack Lowden.

“Because I’m never out of the house!” Ronan, 30, jokes with a hearty laugh. In a way, “it’s true. I haven't done that in so long. I’m ready to get back out there.”

Saoirse Ronan returns to the Oscar race with “The Outrun” and “Blitz”.

Adapted from Amy Liptrot's 2016 memoir, Outrun follows a reckless post-grad named Rona (Ronan) who blows up her life in London by partying hard and returns to her family's seaside home in Scotland to sober up. There she returns to nature while trying to calm the turmoil in her mind.

Despite many films about older male alcoholics, Ronan felt he had rarely seen one from a young woman's perspective.

“You see someone who is cruel and evil, a terrible daughter and a bad lover who has lost all touch with what is important in life,” says Ronan. “It completely shatters the idea we still have about a lot of women: When people talk about mothers who have a drinking problem, they always say, 'Yeah, but what about the kids?' There is still so much pressure on women to maintain this pure façade.”

For the role of Rona, it was important for the actress to understand the psychology of addiction. She attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where she met people who had been “to hell and back” but still had “a sense of humor.” She also spoke at length with Liptrot, who was hit by a tidal wave of repressed emotions when she got sober in her 30s.

“Amy said when she was in rehab she just couldn’t stop crying,” Ronan recalls. “A lot had to come to the surface.”

Ronan acquired various skills while filming on a remote island and at one point gave birth to seven newborn sheep. (“I was terrified of killing those little lambs!”) But that was nothing compared to her fear of performing in front of hundreds of people in “Blitz.” The film, directed by Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), is set during the German Blitzkrieg bombing of London in the 1940s. Ronan portrays a resilient single mother named Rita who puts her musical dreams on hold to help out at a weapons factory during the war.

On her first day of filming, Ronan was launched into a lively quickstep number in a roaring dance hall. Rita also sings various jazz standards and, in an early scene, brings the crowd to tears by singing an original tune to her 9-year-old son (Elliott Heffernan).

“I get very nervous when I sing in front of anyone,” says Ronan. “Steve and I have had many conversations about who this woman is and what music means to her. Music is really how any community makes sense of the nonsense, so I wanted to harness that.”

She is ready to work with Greta Gerwig and her husband Jack Lowden again

If, as many predict, Ronan receives Oscar nominations for both Outrun and Blitz, she will become the youngest dual actress nominee ever. She was nominated for the first time at age 13, playing a scheming schoolgirl in 2007's “Atonement.” Since then, she has received three additional awards for her insightful work with John Crowley (“Brooklyn”) and Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird,” “Little Women”).

“She has this magical presence,” says “Outrun” director Nora Fingscheidt. “She is a very funny and easy-going person, but also very passionate.”

Although she has worked professionally as an actress for most of her life, Ronan says the 2018 historical drama Mary Queen of Scots was the first time she felt completely on her own two feet.

“My experience making 'Brooklyn' and 'Lady Bird' was that it was pretty chaotic in my head,” Ronan remembers. “I was feeling very overwhelmed and insecure, and luckily I had two brilliant directors who knew how to use whatever chaotic, emotional state I was in to create something coherent.”

But then playing someone in “the ultimate position of power” gave me a bit more confidence that I had lost for a while. When I did Little Women, I felt very empowered. I wasn’t afraid of making mistakes or falling on my face.”

In Mary she also met 34-year-old Lowden, who played the Queen's second husband, Lord Darnley. The couple married last summer. Lowden read Outrun during lockdown and together they produced the film adaptation. They are now looking for other scripts to bring to the screen – particularly stories set in Scotland, where Lowden is from.

As an employee: “Jack is much calmer than me. He’s my voice of reason,” says Ronan. “But as a duo, we have both been on film sets our whole lives, so we appreciate what we ask of the actors. We want them to always feel safe.”

They would like to perform together again soon: “Jack hasn't wanted to do that for a long time, but I've now convinced him that it's a great idea. I would really like to do something together on stage.”

She is also looking forward to reuniting with Gerwig. Their dream collaboration: an original film musical in the style of “Sing Street” set in the 1990s. “I know she wants to do a musical too, and that time period is really cool. I keep telling her that she has to put me in everything else. “Barbie” was her only respite.”

At 30, Ronan feels much calmer. She enjoys a quiet place where she can retreat. Her ideal day involves being in the “middle of nowhere” with Lowden and her dog Stella, packing sandwiches for lunch and going hiking or swimming.

“My life has become so much more than just work,” says Ronan. “For a long time that was all I did; “That’s how I met people and understood the world.” But lately she has a “beautiful network” of friends who support each other.

“I feel like I’m part of a group, which I never thought I would,” she says. “I used to think, 'You'll never have friends.' You will never have a partner.' I was so in my own world in a lot of ways. The feeling that I now have a very rich personal and social life is so valuable to me.”

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