Ronan Scores Oscar Nod

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Ronan Scores Oscar Nod

January 23, 2008

By Cahir O’Doherty

SAOIRSE Ronan, the 13-year-old Irish actress who was recently nominated for a Golden Globe, can now add an Oscar nomination to her rapidly expanding resume, as she was cited as a Best Supporting Actress nominee for her critically lauded work in Atonement.

If she wins, the teenager from the small Co. Carlow village of Ardattin will become one of the youngest ever Oscar winners.

Ronan told the press she was proud and excited about the recognition. She was nominated alongside established stars such as Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.

“It would be really nice to go to the big ceremony and get to sit at the fancy table and everything, that would be pretty cool,” said Ronan, adding that she was delighted that other Irish had been nominated for the red carpet event. Last spring’s breakout Irish film Once, starring rocker Glen Hansard, was nominated for the Best Original Song category.

“It’s the most wonderful feeling,” Ronan told the British Sun. “I probably sound really boring because it’s the same thing that happened with the Golden Globes but I was sleeping and my dad screamed and started shouting for us and I came downstairs thinking, ‘There’s a chance that maybe I was nominated for an Oscar.’”

Ronan is currently in New Zealand working on a film project.

The Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on February 24 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. However, the writer’s strike, which is now in its 12th week, is casting an ominous shadow over the biggest night in the Hollywood calendar.

Atonement explores the life of fictional writer Briony Tallis, looking at her character at three ages of her life – 13, 18 and 77 – with separate actresses playing each part. Ronan, who has had a life-long interest in acting, played the part of the young fledgling writer. Keira Knightley and James McAvoy play the lead roles.

The young Irish star was recently nominated for a Baftas award for the British film industry. Her father Paul is a well-known veteran of Irish television shows like Ballykissangel and the family is well known in the isolated village of Ardattin.

Ronan’s cousin Sarah told Irish broadcaster RTE on Tuesday, “We are just over the moon, we can’t believe it, when she was nominated for the Golden Globes it was just out of this world. Now she has an Oscar nomination! It’s just amazing, she is so young and so down to earth, she just takes it in her stride.”

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