Ever since making her breakthrough in 2007 with her Oscar-winning turn in Atonement, Saoirse Ronan has been one of the most lauded actors to set foot in Hollywood. She is a chameleonic performer, delivering compelling performances across countless genres, from stylish thrillers to coming-of-age dramas to dystopian sci-fi movies.
Whether she’s partnering up with director Greta Gerwig to craft heartfelt portraits of young women or diving into fictional worlds unlike her own, Saoirse has always managed to make fascinating yet fitting choices. And she’s recognised for it too: At the age of 25, she’s got four Academy Award nominations under her belt; the second youngest person to achieve that, just behind Jennifer Lawrence.
With the whodunnit comedy See How They Run finally hitting cinemas this weekend, marking Saoirse’s first leading role in nearly two years, there’s no better time to dive into her stellar body of work.
Here are all of Saoirse Ronan’s performances, ranked.
23. Death Defying Acts (2007)
There are far too many things wrong with Gillian Armstrong’s film about Harry Houdini, starting out with the fact that 12-year-old Saoirse wears brown-face not even ten minutes into it. Death Defying Acts remains an unremarkable movie. Saoirse delivers a decent supporting turn as Catherine Zeta-Jones’ daughter as the pair try to con the famous magician.
22. City of Ember (2008)
While City of Ember is a sci-fi adventure movie that features a sweet younger Saoirse saving humanity, it ultimately wastes her brilliant talent. It’s a shame that her first post-Oscar nomination role ended up being this forgettable, but at least she got the chance to have some fun early on in her career.
21. I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007)
In Amy Heckerling’s rather formulaic straight-to-DVD romantic comedy, Saoirse plays Izzie, the daughter of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Rosie who both find themselves falling in love. She sings and dances to Britney Spears in her mirror, plays the guitar, and has some of the film’s only laugh-out-loud moments — what more could we possibly ask for? Not only was I Could Never Be Your Woman one of Saoirse’s first ever movies, but her first kiss also happened while working on it.
20. The Host (2013)
In the midst of the young adult dystopian craze of the 2010s, Saoirse also tried her hand at the genre by tackling dual roles of a teenager and the parasitic alien taking over her body in this adaptation of Twilight author Stephanie Meyers’ novel. The Host ultimately failed to meet expectations and turned out to be her lowest-rated movie to date (it sits at a whopping 10% on Rotten Tomatoes). She does the best she can given the awful material, but it’s definitely not her finest moment.
19. The French Dispatch (2021)
Saoirse’s presence in Wes Anderson’s latest pastel-drenched romp may be sparse — she is simply credited as Showgirl #1 — but she still manages to be a memorable part of the sprawling ensemble. In the film’s third segment, The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner, she plays a woman who, along with a group of criminals, kidnaps the police commissioner’s son.
18. Violet & Daisy (2011)
Starring as an assassin opposite Alexis Bledel in this Kill Bill-lite crime dramedy, Saoirse’s captivating presence serves as the saving grace for what is otherwise a big-screen failure. She achieves the perfect balance between her sweet exterior and her character’s soulless violence, but the rest of the poorly executed film doesn’t quite match her talent. Don’t buy a Tarantino flick from Wish.
17. Lost River (2014)
Ryan Gosling’s sole directorial effort is a stylish, neon-soaked film centering on a single mother who gets swept up in the underbelly of Detroit, while her teen son comes across a hidden underwater town. Saoirse plays the boy’s neighbour and friend, named Rat.
16. How I Live Now (2013)
During her dystopian young adult film era, Saoirse starred in How I Live Now. The post-apocalyptic film centres on Daisy, a bratty emo American teenager who moves in with her relatives in the English countryside in the midst of a war. The wildest thing about this film, something we’re still not quite over, is that Daisy falls in love with her literal cousin. The deranged nature of that plot line is simply glossed over.
15. Stockholm, Pennsylvania (2015)
Once upon a time not too long ago, Saoirse – an Oscar nominee – starred in a TV movie on Lifetime. In the 2015 drama, she plays Leia, a young woman who returns to her family and attempts to adjust to normalcy after being kidnapped and raised for 17 years. It’s clear from the offset that Stockholm, Pennsylvania was originally written for the stage, but Saoirse tries her best with the little substance she was given to work with.
14. On Chesil Beach (2017)
This 60s-set film follows two virgin newlyweds who spend their honeymoon navigating sex for the first time, leading to decades-spanning consequences as a result. She does a fine job at playing her confused and inexperienced character, but there’s only so much Saoirse can do with the material. A typically dry period drama.
13. The Seagull (2018)
This adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play of the same name may not match the quality of its rich source material, nor most of its previous interpretations, but Saoirse anchors it with a fantastic performance. She plays an aspiring young actress, named Nina, who falls for an older man. Together, they become entangled in a love triangle that involves a famous actress. Saoirse imbues the character with naïveté, tenderness and charm.
12. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Wes Anderson tends to fill his films with familiar faces, and while that still rings true with his quirky 2014 Best Picture nominee, the film also introduces some newer stars into its whimsical world. The Grand Budapest Hotel marks his first collaboration with Saoirse. Her role as Agatha, a baker and love interest to the titular hotel’s bellboy, is short, sweet, and one of her most recognisable roles.
11. Byzantium (2013)
It’s practically a rite of passage for an actor to star in at least one vampire flick in their career. For Saoirse, that entry in her body of work was Neil Jordan’s stunning and underrated 2013 film Byzantium, in which she plays Eleanor, one half of a mother-daughter duo alongside Gemma Arterton. No one does vampire stories better than the man who gave us Interview With a Vampire, and she is a really killer bloodsucker.
10. The Way Back (2010)
Telling the true story of a group of prisoners who escape a Siberian gulag during World War II, The Way Back picks up once Saoirse’s Irina enters the picture. In one of her earlier roles, a teenage Saoirse holds her own, bringing her youthful energy into the mix, and shines amongst an ensemble of seasoned actors like Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, and Jim Sturgess. Our one gripe? She’s not in the film nearly as much as she should be.
9. Ammonite (2020)
Everyone was allured by the prospect of Ammonite when it was first announced: Saoirse and Kate Winslet star in a lesbian period drama directed by God’s Own Country’s Francis Lee. The film’s Oscar hopes were dashed by a twist of COVID and its downtempo atmosphere, but Saoirse’s subtle performance as depressed geologist Charlotte Murchison and her deep connection with Kate’s Mary Anning make it worth the watch.
8. See How They Run (2022)
A murder mystery-slash-comedy set against the backdrop of an Agatha Christie whodunnit stage show, Saoirse’s newest film is one of the most Wes Anderson films ever made by someone who isn’t Wes Anderson. She plays rookie Constable Stalker, a major cinephile. She’s eager to crack the mystery of a murder inside the theatre, alongside her new work partner, played by Sam Rockwell. Saoirse doesn’t get the opportunity to flex her comedic chops as often as she deserves, so this is rare in that sense. It makes for a delightful showcase of her range.
7. The Lovely Bones (2009)
Based on Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel, Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones is a haunting film centering on Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl who watches over her family from a whimsically overdone purgatory after she is brutally murdered by her creepy neighbour (played by Stanley Tucci). The Lovely Bones may have received mixed reactions, but Saoirse’s undeniable skill at bringing the sweet and innocent girl to life has aged well. This film helped solidify her as one of the best actors of our generation.
6. Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
A year after going head-to-head for the Best Lead Actress Oscar, Saoirse and Margot Robbie once again faced off against each other — this time on screen — in this semi-accurate 2018 interpretation of the tense rivalry between Mary Stuart and her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England. Margot’s performance as Queen Elizabeth may be the more flashy and transformative one, but Saoirse brings depth to Mary Stuart, giving a commanding performance.
5. Hanna (2011)
Four years after working with Joe Wright on Atonement, Saoirse teamed up with the director again for the severely underrated Hanna. In what is easily her fiercest role to date, she plays a 16-year-old who has been raised by her ex-CIA operative father to be a dangerous and effective assassin since birth. It’s a coming-of-age story that doubles as an intriguing action film, and Saoirse brings a refreshing relatability to the eponymous character. Here, she displays all of the qualities that make for the perfect action heroine. She even went so far as to perform all her own stunts.
4. Atonement (2007)
There are so many things to love about Joe Wright’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement — the iconic green dress; Keira Knightley and James McAvoy’s sizzling chemistry, to name just two — but Saoirse’s turn as the bob-sporting pre-teen Briony Tallis leaves the strongest lasting impression on both the film’s narrative and its audience. Briony is jealous, immature, and devilish; the villainous, though misunderstood kid at the film’s complex moral core. Despite her role being limited to the film’s first act, she packed such a punch that it landed her an Oscar nomination at the age of 13.
3. Brooklyn (2015)
In this movie version of Colm Tóibín’s book, she plays an Irish immigrant in 1950s Brooklyn who, in the midst of adapting to life there, swiftly falls in love with an Italian-American plumber. It’s a knotty and emotional role that she imbues with a classic, almost old school Hollywood-like charm. If there’s a single takeaway from Brooklyn, it’s that cinema should let Saoirse be Irish much more often.
2. Little Women (2019)
“I just feel like women… they have minds and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty.” As Jo March, Saoirse delivered this iconic line in the 2019 adaptation of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. The latest collaboration between Saoirse and director Greta Gerwig, it also reunited the duo with Timothée Chalamet, alongside an ensemble that featured the likes of Florence Pugh and Laura Dern. Little Women is a film oozing with warmth and care, and Saoirse’s luminous performance is just as comforting and inspiring. Greta’s muse effortlessly fills the shoes of one of the most beloved and iconic literary characters of all time, getting to the core of why her headstrong and determined personality has resonated for so many decades. Saoirse, rightfully, earned another Oscar nomination for this.
1. Lady Bird (2017)
The film that launched Saoirse into full-blown awards-darling stardom, Lady Bird is the quintessential coming-of-age film. In Greta Gerwig’s semi-autobiographical directorial debut, a love letter to Sacramento, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson is an angsty teenager on the cusp of adulthood. She’s juggling relationships, a tumultuous connection with her mother, and a desire to live a life beyond her modest California town. It’s Saoirse’s most relatable role to date. In an ideal world, she would’ve scored an Oscar win for it.