Saoirse Ronan is debuting as a producer in her new movie The Outrun, which is out in UK cinemas this week.
Based on Amy Liptrot's autobiographical book, the film follows 29-year-old Rona, who returns home to the Orkney Islands to recover from her alcoholism. One day at a time, Rona finds hope and strength while haunted by her darkest moments.
Ronan first got acquainted with Liptrot's book through her husband and fellow actor Jack Lowden. After falling in love with the material, she decided to take this opportunity to embark on her first producing venture.
"It was great. I think it was exactly what I needed," she said about the experience in an exclusive interview with Digital Spy.
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"It was a really excellent way to get out of your own head and think about the bigger picture, and also for me to be able to put my energy actively into the people that I was working with," Ronan added.
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"To know that I could help them if hair and makeup aren't being listened to enough, or a cast member needs a little bit more of something, whether it's on set or off. And because I'm so used to being in that position myself, I have an empathy and an understanding of anyone else who is in that role.
"So I just feel like more creative people need to be making their own stuff, because there is this cutthroat element that I think you can get sometimes with industry heads. You just have an understanding of how things should be done, I guess, and the safest way to do that. So it was wonderful to be able to exercise that."
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Ronan also opened up about how it was to tackle such a heavy topic as alcoholism, which is at the core of the story.
"For me, it felt like an opportunity to respectfully portray that experience, whether you are the person going through it directly, or you are the loved one of someone who's going through it," she explained.
"I think it's an illness, whether it's alcohol addiction or another form of that, or whether we're just referring to mental illness. It's something that affects everybody across the board, in some shape or form.
"So I think to be able to, yet again, take a movie and use that as a way to show a slightly different perspective and open people's eyes to that, even more open the conversation, even more about what that's like, and also the joy and the healing that can come thereafter, that is always going to be worthy of our time, I think."
The actor is joined in the cast by I May Destroy You's Paapa Essiedu, Game of Thrones' Stephen Dillane and Slow Horses' Saskia Reeves. The film is directed by Nora Fingscheidt and co-produced by Jack Lowden, Sarah Brocklehurst and Dominic Norris.
The Outrun has received mostly positive reviews from critics, who have praised Ronan's "deeply committed" lead performance. The film has landed a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes (from 41 reviews) ahead of its UK release this Friday and its US release on October 4.
Saoirse Ronan also stars in one of the most anticipated British movies of the year, Steve McQueen's Blitz, which is set for a November release following its premiere at the London Film Festival.
The Outrun is arriving in UK cinemas on September 27.
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
