The role of a lifetime! Saoirse Ronan raved about her leading role in Mary Queen of Scots and revealed how starring alongside Margot Robbie empowered her.
“It is [fun playing such a bada— character]!” the 24-year-old, who stars as Queen of Scotland Mary Stuart, exclusively told Us Weekly at the film’s New York City premiere on Tuesday, December 4. “It’s great playing someone who has her posse with her, so it was incredible to have that group of women with me.”
The Golden Globe winner also revealed how playing the monarch made her more assertive. “I’ve never had that experience where I could really feel a change in myself as I was doing the film,” she explained to Us. “Usually it starts to seep in afterward, but I could feel myself growing a little bit as I was playing Mary.”
Ronan, who took Hollywood by storm following her breakout role in 2017’s Lady Bird, previously opened up to Us about the importance of strong female leads in cinema.
“Girls are constantly being compared to each other, whether it’s by each other or in pop culture. We need more young female heroines who own their insecurities,” she exclusively told Us in December 2017. “When we go see a movie, we want to feel like we’re understood by the person who created it. So many girls haven’t been written as people. They’re two dimensional. It’s important for girls to know they’re celebrated, they’re right to be driven and to support one another.”
Mary Queen of Scots is now in theaters.
With reporting by Nicki Gostin.