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8 Saoirse Ronan Facts Few People Know, Including How To Pronounce Her Name

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 01:06 PST, Feb 2, 2016

Saoirse Ronan has fully established her place in Hollywood, with her wonderful Irish accent and her talent and charm. But there are a number of things about this wonderful Irish gal that few people know, including how to pronounce her name.

1. So how is Saoirse Ronan’s name pronounced? Swide reports that Ronan has explained the pronunciation of her name.

“‘Seer-sha’ is how Irish people pronounce my first name, but I would pronounce it ‘Sir-sha,’ like ‘inertia.’ It’s Irish for ‘freedom.'”

It appears Dennis Quaid could have used this information when he was announcing the nominees for Golden Globe Awards this year.

2. Saoirse Ronan’s father is an actor, who has been in movies such as The Devil’s Own, and Saoirse used to accompany her dad to the set when she was a baby.

3. Even though she was born in the Bronx, New York, Saoirse Ronan moved to Ireland when she was 3-years-old, where she was raised. It seems she came home in the movie Brooklyn, and she told the Telegraph that her character’s story in the movie was similar to that of her parents, who went to New York during the recession of the 1980s.

“I only realised in retrospect that it is essentially their story. They had nothing, and they were illegal for a few years so they couldn’t leave because they wouldn’t be allowed back in. My dad started out in construction, then he became a bartender, and eventually he was discovered by another Irish actor in the bar. My mum was a nanny, and she was adamant that she was going to have me there so I wouldn’t ever have to go through the tough time that they had in order to get their visas. I’m blessed in that I can just move to New York or LA if I want. Even when it comes to work, I don’t have to worry about visas. So thanks, Mum! She came to see the film at Sundance, and for me she was the most important critic, because I wanted her to feel like it had authentically portrayed her struggle.”

4. Boomsbeat reports that Saoirse Ronan is quite talented with accents, something fans might see more of as she expands her acting career.

5. Saoirse Ronan was going to be cast as the woodland elf Itaril in The Hobbit, but she had scheduling issues and it didn’t work out. The role was never filled, and Itaril never appeared in the movies. Ronan told the Daily Mirror that she was very disappointed to have missed out on the opportunity.

“Yes, there was talk about me playing the wood elf Itaril but I had to turn it down. I was really disappointed but there were other projects I had to consider and to spend a year doing The Hobbit wouldn’t have left me time for anything else.”

6. Saoirse Ronan auditioned for the part of Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but the part ultimately went to Evanna Lynch.

Ronan was disappointed to miss out on the role.

“I’d love to be in Harry Potter. When I was younger, I used to think they had the best job in the world.”

7. Saoirse Ronan was originally cast to star in Ridley Scott’s movie Robin Hood, but she then decided against it and instead chose to star in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, along with Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz, Staley Tucci, and Mark Wahlberg.

8. At the young age of 12, Saoirse Ronan was asked to audition for the role of Briony Tallis, a 13-years-old aspiring novelist, in the movie Atonement. She got the part, and it led to Ronan’s first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

[Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images]

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