Saoirse Ronan opens up about directing ambitions

Saoirse Ronan is very interested in stepping behind the camera in the future.

The Irish actress has garnered Oscar nominations for her performances in films such as Atonement, Brooklyn, and Lady Bird, and has also won praise for her roles in movies like Hanna and The Lovely Bones. While Saoirse is currently one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents, she has now indicated that she may one day take a break from acting and instead try directing.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” she said in an interview for Harper’s Bazaar U.K. “I was more drawn to that as a kid than I was to acting. I love working with actors, but I always learn the most from the directors. It’s their vision you’re bringing to life, you have to adapt to their way of working. I like having to stretch myself to fit in with their requirements.”

Of late, Saoirse has been promoting historical drama Mary, Queen of Scots, in which she stars as the titular character, opposite Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I, and recently reunited with Lady Bird filmmaker Greta Gerwig for a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

The star has now selected a number of complex characters to play on the big screen, and she is adamant that her film choices are no coincidence.

“From a purely selfish point of view, I’ve always wanted to play characters who are well-rounded and interesting and smart, or who are intelligently written,” the 24-year-old explained. “And because that’s what I’ve always wanted to get out of it, the films end up reflecting that. They’re the only roles I want to play. “Even when I was a kid, I knew I didn’t just want to play ‘the sister’, or ‘the girlfriend’, or ‘the secretary’. That was always a priority for me, to play someone who –even if they were only in a few scenes – really had something to them.”