TV & Movies
Saoirse Ronan Still Regrets Losing Out On This Harry Potter Role
The actor auditioned for one of the franchise’s most beloved characters.
Saoirse Ronan almost attended Hogwarts. In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Oscar-nominated actor revealed that she auditioned to play Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter film franchise, a part that ultimately went to Evanna Lynch.
“There’s things that you’ll pass on, and then they come out, and you think, ‘Oh, God, that was a misstep on my part,’” Ronan told Kimmel on Oct. 4. “The one that stayed with me over the years was — and I didn’t say no to it, I just didn’t get the part — I [tried for] Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter years ago.”
Reflecting on the audition, she said, “It was the Irish character, so they got everyone Irish,” adding, “like half of Ireland came and auditioned.” In the end, she speculated she didn’t get the part “because I was too young,” but said even reading for a scene was “the coolest thing ever.”
The Other Movie Saoirse Missed
Ronan also talked to Kimmel about Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie. The actor, who’d worked with Gerwig on Lady Bird and Little Women, asked to appear in the film. Ultimately, scheduling got in the way, as she was filming her new movie The Outrun, which hit theaters on Oct. 4.
“I was going to be a Weird Barbie, obviously,” she said. “It was going to be me and Kate [McKinnon] being weird for 20 minutes. I’m still devastated that I didn’t get to be in that.”
She wasn’t alone in missing out. Her Lady Bird and Little Women co-star Timotheé Chalamet couldn’t make the timing work, either. “We were both asked, I think, but we were busy elsewhere,” Ronan said, adding that Chalamet likely would’ve played “Weird Ken.”
