Saoirse Ronanwasn’t looking for another project whenBlitzcame around.
“I’d been away from home for months,” Ronan tellsEntertainment Weekly.
“I got her call to say that she was interested in the role,” McQueen recalled.
Saoirse Ronan as Rita in ‘Blitz’.Apple TV+
But she’s got a good agent, a very good agent.
I was very excited.”
Ronan was relieved to immediately establish a rapport with the12 Years a Slavefilmmaker during their first call.
Saoirse Ronan as Rita and Elliott Heffernan as George in ‘Blitz’.Apple TV+
“I’m pretty sure you called me geezer, which I loved,” she told McQueen.
And I was with Jack, and I was like, ‘Steve McQueen’s just called me a geezer.
Couldn’t be happier.’
Elliott Heffernan as George and Saoirse Ronan as Rita in ‘Blitz’.Apple TV+
That was the beginning of our working relationship.”
Ronan, on the other hand, hasn’t incorporated singing in any of her previous projects.
“I thought to myself, ‘Well, can she sing?'”
“I thought, ‘My God, she’s this amazing artist, but can she sing?’
I didn’t know.
you might hold the tune.'”
McQueen set Ronan up with a vocal coach to train and evaluate her voice.
“I’ll never forget that phone call I got from the singing coach,” the director remembers.
And I was just so happy.
She said, ‘Oh my God, this is going to be something.'”
From there, Ronan’s casting was a no-brainer.
And that was it.
That was the start of our journey."
Ronan was thrilled by the opportunity to show off and strengthen her pipes.
“She was helping strengthen my voice through different exercises, and I just loved it.”
Music has always been important to Ronan.
“My mom loves to sing.
It’s such a huge part of how I express myself.
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Growing up in a community surrounded by war stories also helped inform Ronan’s performance.
“There was a war in Ireland up until 40 years ago,” she says.
It’s something that I’ve grown up knowing about.”
But Ronan focused on the story’s emotional power more than historical specificity in her preparation.
It’s always been about, ‘Okay, what is this relationship between this human and that human?’
and build on it from that.
Blitzis now playing in theaters and hits Apple TV+ on Nov. 22.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
