Saoirse Ronan became an accomplished actress at such a young age as she worked on big movies with A-list stars. Her filmography is no joke too, as Ronan’s best movies have included Atonement, Little Women, Brooklyn, and Lady Bird, all of which she earned Oscar nominations for. However, for all actors, there’s always that one role that got away, and Ronan admitted which key role that was for her. Here’s a hint: it’s from the Harry Potter series.
Even talented actors and actresses with many roles under their belt don’t land every audition they go for. A couple of examples include Britney Spears almost being cast in The Notebook and Paul Walker being close to leading A Knight’s Tale. As for the role that got away from Saoirse Ronan, she revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she went out of an iconic Harry Potter character that would have been perfect for her:
I had gone up for Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter years ago, because it was like the Irish character. So they got everyone Irish in, like half of Ireland to come and audition. And I knew I wasn’t gonna get it, because I was too young. But I got to read out a scene that was gonna be in Harry Potter, and it was the coolest thing ever.
The character of the zany yet lovable Luna Lovegood was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix back in 2007. This was the year Saoirse Ronan’s first big movie Atonement came out, and she was 12 years old when she filmed that. With Luna being around 14 when she made her Harry Potter debut, Ronan probably would have been too young to play a fourth-year student.
However, the Little Women actress would have been great as Luna Lovegood. Saoirse Ronan would definitely pull off the Harry Potter character’s look with her blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. More so, I could see her portraying Luna’s eccentricities while still making the character heartwarmingly relatable. Plus, I would have loved to see her in a scene like the one when she tells Harry about her deceased mother.
The Lovely Bones actress has also portrayed unorthodox characters before. For example, in Greta Gerwig’s best movies, Lady Bird and Little Women, both characters shamelessly move to the beat of their own drums.
Another quirky character Saoirse Ronan admitted she was “gutted” she couldn’t play was a Weird Barbie alongside Kate McKinnon in Barbie. Her reason for having to turn down the part was so she could play a woman who returns to her childhood Scottish farm after a stint in rehab in the biopic The Outrun. While it would have been amazing to see the Mary Queen of Scots actress play the whimsical Barbieland resident, it makes sense why she said no, because she’s both the star and producer of this smaller film.
You can watch Saoirse Ronan talk about both The Outrun and her Harry Potter audition below:
Even though Saoirse Ronan lost the role of Luna Lovegood to Evanna Lynch, her career has been nothing short of jaw-dropping. After all, there’s already early Oscar buzz for her latest lead role in the 2024 movie release The Outrun, which is playing in theaters now.