Saoirse Ronan has responded to her viral moment regarding the safety of women on The Graham Norton Show, noting that it is "opening a conversation".
On last weekend's episode of the BBC chat show, the Blitz star appeared on the sofa alongside Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington.
In one notable moment, Redmayne opened up about training for his new show The Day of the Jackal and learning about using your phone in self-defence.
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Mescal then asked: "Who’s actually going to do that, though? If someone attacked me, I'm not going to go, 'phone'."
However, Ronan received huge praise online in her response as she drew attention to women's experiences, saying to audience applause: "That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?"
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The actor has since addressed her comments in an interview on The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio, admitting that the response has been "wild".
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"It's definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn't necessarily set out to sort of make a splash," she said. "But I do think there's something really telling about the society that we're in right now and about how open women want to be with the men in their lives.
"So many men and women that I know from all over the world have gotten in touch with me about this one comment, which is, again, I would urge people, please, please, please to watch this in context."
Ronan then implored fans to "watch the whole interview or watch at least that part of the conversation", as "the boys weren't sort of like debunking anything that I was saying".
"But at the same time, it felt very similar to like when I am at dinner with a bunch of my friends and I will always make the point that, well, this is actually an experience that we go through every single day, 100%," she continued.
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The star went on to call Mescal one of her "very dear friends", revealing she has "had conversations like that with him before and he completely gets that and completely understands that".
"But I think the fact that there was a moment like that that happened on a show like Graham Norton, which is something that the entire nation channels and to watch and even overseas, it's something that people tune into, it seems to have had an accessibility which seems to have really gained traction, which I think is amazing.
"It's opening a conversation and again, hopefully it's allowing more and more women to just be like, well, yeah, actually, let's talk about our experience."
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Ronan then recalled talking to a female colleague she worked with on Blitz in the wake of the viral moment, who told her that she and friends discussed "the fake phone call" while her husband was in the room.
"And her husband went, 'What, fake phone call? What do you mean?' And of course, you wouldn’t understand if you’ve not had to go through anything like that," she added.
"But she somehow, throughout her life as a female, has gained these tools without ever talking to other women about it and understanding that this is sort of a survival tactic.
"And we've all sort of like subconsciously found the same tools and use them again and again and I find that really interesting."
The Ryan Tubridy Show airs on Virgin Radio.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
