Saoirse Ronan first showed her impressive acting skills at only 12 years old in Atonement. Starring alongside Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, she grabbed the attention with her portrayal of Briony Tallis and even earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
However, she got the center stage in a high-profile movie for the first time two years later, leading Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, a story about a high school girl, who gets murdered, but her spirit continues to watch over her family.
The crucial stint in a Peter Jackson-directed movie at such a young age further underlined Ronan’s prowess and opened floodgates of opportunities, so much so that when The Lord of the Rings director came calling for another movie, the actress had to turn down the approach.
Saoirse Ronan Explains Her Decision to Reject Peter Jackson’s Blockbuster Movie
After the historic success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson decided to work on another epic fantasy adventure film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The movie about Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his journey with a wizard and a group of dwarves was the first installment in The Hobbit trilogy.
Considering it acted as a prequel to the very successful The Lord of the Rings trilogy and was also based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel, there was plenty of hype around its casting. Crucial roles in such movies end up defining the whole career of many actors.
At the time, Saoirse Ronan was rumored to be starring in the epic battle between Bilbo and the dragon Smaug. However, she set the record straight, stating (via Irish Mirror):
“There was talks about me playing the wood elf Itaril but I had to turn it down. I was really disappointed but there were other projects I had to consider and to spend a year doing The Hobbit wouldn’t have left me time for anything else.”
The Hobbit train moved without Ronan and ended up dominating the box office in 2012. It grossed just over $1 billion in worldwide collection. In the same year, the actress also appeared on the big screen with another movie, but it attracted contrasting results.
How Saoirse Ronan’s Vampire Movie Panned Out at the Box Office
During the peak of The Twilight’s popularity, Ronan came up with her very own vampire-centric movie, titled Byzantium.
She played the role of Eleanor Webb opposite Gemma Arterton’s Clara Webb. The two mysterious women seek refuge in a seaside town and find themselves being chased by their dangerous past after the secret that they were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood is revealed.
Neil Jordan’s non-traditional and feminist take on vampire lore – which touched on subjects like yearning for love, betrayal, dangerous sensuality, and brutal consequences – impressed critics but failed at the box office, managing to collect a mere $828,284.
Source: Irish Mirror
