Saoirse Ronan has lived and acted through a lot

Paul and his wife Monica were living in New York as undocumented immigrants when Ronan was born. Her mother worked as a cleaner, and Paul worked as a waiter and bricklayer while auditioning for acting gigs. The family returned to Dublin when Ronan was three, then moved to Carlow, the second smallest county in Ireland, and Paul was cast in the Irish soap opera Ballykissangel. And “the just city.”

Ronan grew up visiting her father during films, and made rapid progress once she started taking on her own roles. Shortly after The Clinic, she was cast as Briony in Atonement, a 2007 adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel, a role that earned her nominations for a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award.

Even though she was only 13 years old at the time, Ronan stars alongside Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in the film. She starred among the cast of Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and in the film “Brooklyn” (2015). Her first leading role. Most recently, Ronan collaborated with Gerwig on “Lady Bird.” “Little Women” showed the same magic that helped her 2017 appearance hosting “Saturday Night Live” It went viral.

That monologue, which included a song about how to pronounce “Saoirse” (that’s SAYR-sha), was as much a conversation about Irishness as it was a joke about the nation’s love of names with redundant vowels. She also spoke about Ronan’s other role as a cultural ambassador and part of a wave of young Irish actors including Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan and Jessie Buckley, who are currently making a global impact.

McQueen – who has previously given prominent roles in his films to Irish actors, including Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell and Michael Fassbender – praised the shared vision between the three and Ronan. “It’s an island,” he said of Ireland. “No one can grow bigger than their shoe size. I also think that when you come from an island, there is a real desire to connect, tell stories and find feelings.

Ronan, who recently bought a house in West Cork, said she remained connected to her home country, even when she moved beyond it. “What I’m most grateful for about Ireland is the fact that we celebrate the arts as much as we do,” Ronan said, adding: “We’re not shy when it comes to emotions and feelings and storytelling. We thrive on that.”