Saoirse Ronan has dropped a huge bombshell after revealing that she was actually rejected from the Harry Potter franchise as a child star.
The 30-year-old became a household name at a very young age thanks to her stint in 2007’s Atonement, for which she landed an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress when she was just 13.
She went on to steal the show in the Lovely Bones, Lady Bird, Little Women and Brooklyn, and is currently leading the star-studded cast of the Outrun.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host questioned whether there were any roles she didn’t take that still weigh heavily on her mind – and it turns out that she had auditioned for a role at Hogwarts.
‘There are things that you’ll pass on and then they come out and you think, “Oh, God, that was a misstep on my part,”’ she told the host.
‘The one that stayed with me over the years was… I didn’t say no to it, I just didn’t get the part. I lost, again – it’s a running theme for me.
‘But I had gone up for Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter years ago.’
‘It was like the Irish character, so they got everyone Irish in, like half Ireland, to come and audition,’ she continued.
‘I knew I wasn’t going to get it because I was too young, but I got to read out a scene that was going to be in Harry Potter, and it was the coolest thing ever.’
Luna Lovegood made her debut in the wizarding world in the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with Evanna Lynch eventually claiming the role.
The flick hit the big screen in 2007, the same year that Saoirse appeared as Briony Tallis in Atonement, beside James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.
Although her dreams of rocking up to Hogwarts didn’t quite go to plan, there is another role that the Hollywood icon has got her eye on.
In fact, she volunteered herself for a coveted part in an upcoming James Bond blockbuster – but only on one condition.
‘I would like to do something big and shiny,’ she told the LA Times, specifying that her dream would be playing a baddie in the spy movie.
‘I’d love to do that.’
Ever since Daniel Craig announced his departure from the James Bond franchise, ahead of the release of 2021’s No Time To Die, all eyes have been on the famous face who will be taking over the part.
While Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been heavily linked to appear, other names in the mix include James Norton, Tom Hardy and Regé-Jean Page.
Taron Egerton and Henry Cavill have also found themselves at the center of speculation, as has Idris Elba – who immediately poured ice cold water on any suggestions he could be the next 007.
Could Saoirse appear opposite one of them very soon…?