Saoirse Ronan: Interview at Blockbuster.co.uk

It takes a special kind of talent to carry a Peter Jackson movie. To be the heart of an epic drama. Good thing actress Saoirse Ronan, star of The Lovely Bones, was up to the challenge. Blockbuster.co.uk's Marshall Julius reports.

Born in New York but raised in Ireland, rising star Saoirse Ronan is wise beyond her 16 years, a naturally talented actress with innate screen presence who delivers a breathtaking, heartbreaking performance as a murdered teen looking down upon her family from Heaven in Peter Jackson's spellbinding The Lovely Bones. Buy or rent it now, on Blu-ray and DVD, in store and online from blockbuster.co.uk.

"The biggest physical and emotional challenge that I faced on the film," reveals Ronan, "was the scene underground. The scene where I'm lured into the bunker and, though you don't really see it, the scene where I'm murdered by George [Stanley Tucci]. There's that shot of me escaping, which is what we all want to believe happened, and that took a long time to figure out. It was a bit more difficult than usual to completely commit myself to the physical side of that scene as for one, I had a cold, and secondly there was so much going on emotionally. It was pretty draining.

"I was lucky that when she shot that scene, we were quite far into the shooting process, so we'd had lots of time to prepare for it. Also Stanley was really helpful. We got on very well from the time we first met and now we're really close. We didn't really know each other until we started that scene, so it could have been intense, but we kept the atmosphere light. Because Stanley is a family man himself, in between takes he felt the need to take care of me and make sure that I was okay, which I thought was very sweet. Even though he was still in that state of mind, he was able to switch from this monster he was playing to the father he really is, because it's natural in him."

Though the ultimate message of the film is one of acceptance, love and moving on, there's no denying it deals with some pretty dark stuff along the way. "Sometimes it was hard to deal with," remembers Ronan. "When I started off it was difficult. There was a part of me that thought about it quite a lot so I learned how to switch off my brain. In between takes, unless it was a really intense scene and it was helpful for me to stay in character, I'd go back to my usual self. I didn't want to be stuck there all the time. When I'm on film, I'm the character, but when I'm not filming, I'm me and I think it's important to go back to your own identity."

Ronan clearly appreciates the film's eventual optimism. "When I came out from watching the movie for the first time I felt very positive and hopeful about life and death. After I made the movie I definitely thought more about the afterlife and if our souls go some place else. I think they do. I think it makes sense for them to not just disappear. I was hopeful, but it was a strange feeling because I was also sad about the life had been taken away from her."

From her experiences to date, Ronan is now resolved to spending her life making movies. "I've learned a little bit but I need to know more because I want to write something. I want to direct as well. I want to do it all now! But I'll never give up acting."

But whenever she goes back home, back to the real world, Ronan is happy to leave Hollywood far behind. At least for a little while. "I live in the country in Ireland, which is so far away from the Hollywood scene. I try as best I can to have a normal life. People recognise me, of course, and that's very strange. But I leave my working life behind when I go home. That's my other world."

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