Saoirse Ronan at 30: the actor’s 10 best roles to date

As the Irish screen star celebrates her birthday, Lauren Murphy looks back at some of her top films

When Saoirse Ronan was 10 years old, she made her first media appearance — although the world was not yet familiar with her name. Appearing on the late Gerry Ryan’s radio show in a bid to win a trip to Florida for her family, the audio clip, which was unearthed when she was a guest on The Late Late Show in 2019, displayed her abundant talent for performing as she breathlessly pleaded for the holiday in the guise of the Gingerbread Man from Shrek. “I’ve never had a holiday!”, she squeakily beseeched a bemused Ryan. She won the contest.

Two decades on, Saoirse — who celebrates her 30th birthday today — is well on her way to ‘national treasure’ status, being one of the most acclaimed Irish actors of her generation.

Born in New York in 1994, the only child of Paul and Monica, acting was in the young Saoirse’s blood from birth; both parents dabbled in acting and her father is a regular face on RTÉ soap Fair City. The family returned to Ireland when Saoirse was three, settling in Carlow and later Dublin.

For Saoirse, early roles in Irish TV series The Clinic and Proof paved the way for her breakthrough role in the adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement at the age of 12. Since then, she has worked with some of the biggest filmmakers in the business, although her choice of roles — favouring period dramas and quirky, indie-hearted filmmakers like Greta Gerwig and Wes Anderson over Marvel-style action blockbusters — suggests that fame and fortune are relatively low on her agenda.

She has also managed to traverse the often tricky pathway from ‘teen star’ to ‘respected adult actor’ with panache. In recent years, she has ventured behind the scenes, forming production company Arcade Pictures with her actor boyfriend Jack Lowden; she also stars in their first film, The Outrun, an adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir to be released this year.

Unlike many of her ilk, however, she has yet to pursue a role in a big TV series; for now, upcoming roles in Steve McQueen’s World War II drama Blitz and comedy thriller Bad Apples are next on her reel.

In the meantime, here are some of Saoirse’s most memorable film roles to date.

FOE (2023)

Billed as the first opportunity to see two of Ireland’s finest young actors headlining a bill, Garth Davis’s sci-fi/thriller set in the late 21st century saw Ronan play Hen, the wife of Paul Mescal’s Junior — who has been selected to leave Earth and partake in a space programme.

The film’s plot was arguably overly convoluted and cumbersome, but Ronan was a revelation, bringing a suffocated anguish to her complex character opposite Mescal’s smouldering intensity. It would be great to see them paired again in a different film — or perhaps even on stage?

SEE HOW THEY RUN (2022)

Ronan has long proven her chops as a dramatic actress, but in this underrated gem, she showed what she can do when presented with a comedy-leaning script, too. Of course, if you’ve ever seen her interviewed, you’ll already be aware of her natural comic timing and easygoing persona. In Tom George’s comedic crime caper, she excelled as the bumbling assistant to Sam Rockwell’s hard-nosed detective, as they teamed up to solve a mysterious murder.

LITTLE WOMEN (2019)

Jo March has been a feminist icon for almost 150 years — so when Ronan heard that Greta Gerwig was adapting Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, she made it her business to land that particular role.

It’s hard to imagine a better choice; amid the prim society norms, Ronan’s Jo throws off the shackles of expectations with a gleeful aplomb, leading an impressive cast but never failing to imbue her character with vulnerability and earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in the process. Timothée Chalamet’s Laurie stood

no chance with her, in fairness.

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (2018)

You may have spotted a trend in the characters and directors that Ronan has been drawn to as her stature has grown: strong female characters in films often helmed by female directors. This historical drama, directed by Josie Rourke, recounted the period where the teenage Mary Stuart famously staked a claim for the Scottish throne against her English cousin, Elizabeth I. Ronan played the titular role with a steely, commanding grace — and a pretty impeccable Scottish accent, too.

LADY BIRD (2017)

Ronan’s first collaboration with Greta Gerwig remains one of her defining roles to date. She was so superb in this coming-of-age comic drama about a teenage high schooler navigating friendship, sexuality, family and relationships, that it earned her a third Oscar nomination. Her ability to portray a young woman in the final throes of adolescence with such pathos and fallibility speaks volumes of her range.

BROOKLYN (2015)

Colm Tóibín’s novel about a young Irish emigrant in New York has become enshrined in

popular culture like few other contemporary Irish works have. So adapting it successfully for the big screen was no mean feat — but with Ronan playing the beloved character of Eilis Lacey, a young girl who seeks a new life in the US but is unwillingly drawn back to her Wexford hometown — the story was in safe hands. Her beautifully-weighted performance earned her another Oscar nomination; with Tóibín’s sequel Long Island set for publication next month, many would love to see Ronan reprise the character of Eilis, should that novel ever be adapted for the screen.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014)

If Ronan’s role here proved anything, it was how versatile she is as an actress. Up until that point, she had ticked the action, drama and fantasy boxes; in Wes Anderson’s masterpiece, she marked herself out as one to watch amid a heavyweight ensemble cast that included Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes and more. Playing the role of Agatha, an apprentice baker who aids in a prison break, she absolutely nailed Anderson’s deadpan style.

HANNA (2011)

Hanna may have been an enjoyable-if-somewhat-forgettable action film for most — but when you consider that this thriller was filmed when Ronan was just 16, it’s all the more remarkable.

Reuniting with Atonement director Joe Wright, she played the titular character, a ‘lone wolf’-style assassin trained in the Finnish wilderness by her father, who is on the run from CIA agent Cate Blanchett. Starring in a big-budget thriller when most of her peers were in Transition Year or studying for their Leaving Cert? Not bad going.

THE LOVELY BONES (2009)

Having tasted success with Atonement, it wasn’t long until Hollywood sat up and took notice of this astonishing young talent. Her next big role was in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s heartbreaking 2002 novel of the same name, where she played Susie Salmon — a 14-year-old girl who is murdered by a neighbour and subsequently caught in a kind of purgatory, observing her family’s grief as she struggles to move on and find peace. Although the film received mixed reviews, Ronan’s performance was described as “remarkable” and “magic” by critics.

ATONEMENT (2007)

The film that announced Ronan with aplomb, although it was not her first big screen appearance. Nevertheless, her commanding presence in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel is not something that can be taught in acting classes — as the saying goes, you’ve either got it or you don’t.

She plays 13-year-old Briony Tallis, whose misinterpretation of various incidents within her privileged family sets off a chain of events that has decades-long ramifications. Even at that young age, Ronan’s ability to balance ‘chilling indifference’ with ‘malice’ showcased an ability beyond her years.