Amongst all the Bafta buzz flying around at the moment, possibly one of the most interesting nominee’s is Irelands rising star Saoirse Ronan, a young lady who gained an Oscar nomination back in 2008 for her role as young Briony in Atonement.
This latest nomination comes for her latest role as Susie Salmon in Peter Jackson’s new film The Lovely Bones, based on the novel by Alice Sebold, for which role Saoirse has already picked up the Critics Choice Award Best Young Actor at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
Refreshingly down-to-earth, Saoirse has often commented that she’s glad that she didn’t start acting ‘too young’ as this would mean that she wouldn’t burn out early.
While most might suggest that 11 years old actually is very early to be starring in a major Hollywood hit such as Atonement, you have to give her credit for modesty. This is, after all, the girl who Kiera Knightly said that she took acting tips from.
After a brief flirt with stardom during extreme youth (yes, apparently Brad Pitt did dandle her on his knee when she was a mere 3 years old unfortunately not something she remembers), Saoirse’s family moved back to Ireland where she was one of only 59 pupils at her local primary school.
Acting, though, was never too far away with Saoirse practicing accents on her Pollypocket dolls resulting in her never seeming out of place either in 1930’s upper class England or American 1970’s suburbia.
Saoirse’s most famous roles are well known and commented on while a few smaller, but similarly brilliant in execution, have passed under the radar and only adds to her promise as an Actor on the rise:
Gaining her first few roles in Irish TV series’ The Clinic and Proof didn’t put her talent with accents to use, it did give her valuable experience in being on set and working hard.
Saoirse impressed Hollywood right from the word go with her film acting career starting when she starred alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and funny man Paul Rudd in I Could Never Be Your Woman, as Pfeiffer’s convincingly charming cookie daughter.
Her next role was playing Catherine Zeta-Jones’ daughter in Death Defying Acts. Saoirse’s talents were perhaps not as fully on display in this part as elsehwere, but she still stands out in the film as a new acting talent.
Although not a box office smash her leading role in City Of Ember allowed her talents to come clearly to the foreground, gaining Saoirse some fantastic critical success.
With two films currently in already in post production, and news breaking of further roles all the time it seems safe to say that future holds big things for Saoirse, and can’t wait to see what they are!
The Lovely Bones is out now.
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