As two of our brightest Hollywood stars team up for the first time on the big screen, Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell chat exclusively to Stephen Milton before the release of Siberian second world war epic The Way Back, and reveal the horrific conditions endured throughout their toughest shoot to date
Icy blizzards, blistering temperatures, severe food poisoning and some I’m a Celebrity-style culinary delights were just a few of the arduous challenges faced by Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronan during shooting of their new movie, The Way Back.
The duo join forces for the first time in this epic saga and endured some of the toughest conditions in their respective careers.
Loosely based on the memoirs of Slawomir Rawicz, Farrell and Ronan portray Second World War gulag escapees who embark on an epic 4,000-mile trek from Soviet Siberia, across the Himalayas and into Communist-free India. And with Oscar talk buzzing for their powerful performances, both stars share exclusively with the Herald their unforgettable experiences shooting the movie and their close bond that grew on set.
Sweet Sixteen and no longer a starlet – Saoirse Ronan:
With one Oscar nom under her belt, there’s been pressure on young Saoirse Ronan to deliver on her early promise. Stepping into the luxury hotel suite at London’s Claridges hotel, however, there’s no doubting the presence of a bona fide movie star. The gawky, wide-eyed disbelief in her surroundings has now been replaced by a self-assured poise, radiant with cascading blonde tresses combined with a freshly guarded nature, reserved for the Kidman’s of this world. The Carlow accent’s still unaffected though — for now.
Portraying Polish teenage refugee Irena in The Way Back, Saoirse not only had to face physical and mental challenges for the role — she has also had to join the testosterone-fuelled cast mid way through the shoot. An intimidating experience for one so young?
“I joined the shoot about a month or six weeks in,” she explains. “Normally when I do a movie, I’m there from the beginning with everyone else — and I’m not the only girl. So I was a little nervous meeting everyone. But, luckily, Colin and the guys welcomed me in with open arms. I was one of the boys. There was a lovely camaraderie on set.”
Show ▼
Tough
Good spirits are a necessary component for such a tough shoot, which saw cast and crew working in sub-zero temperatures in the Carpathian mountains of Bulgaria and in the searing heat of Morocco’s Sahara Desert leading to dramatic weight loss for co-stars Jim Sturgess and Ed Harris. Saoirse wasn’t obliged to shed the pounds but lost close to a half stone thanks to illness.
“The toughest part for me though was when I got food poisoning and felt horrific. It was 45 degrees and I’m trying to film this sleepwalking scene, which was all serene and beautiful, and I could feel this terrible, awful pain in my stomach. That was easily the toughest day for me on set. It was awful.”
Arguably our most successful local actress to hit the Hollywood big time, 16-year-old Ronan has earned critical acclaim since dominating the screen in 2008′s Atonement. Since then, the worldly teen has gone on to star with some of the biggest names in the business, including Catherine Zeta Jones, Bill Murray and Michelle Pfeiffer, and more than held her own opposite Susan Sarandon and Mark Wahlberg in last year’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones.
Not bad for someone who’s yet to do their Leaving Cert.
Next up is Hanna, where she’ll star as an ass-whipping teenage assassin alongside Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, reportedly performing all her own stunts. Just as well she got a little practice beforehand as The Way Back director Peter Weir called upon the youngster, who made her acting debut on RTE’s now defunct series The Clinic, to tough it out in a series of dangerous sequences.
Scary
“There’s one scene where I have to run across an ice-sheet on a river which was actually fake ice they had made,” she reveals. “It was a little scary, not to mention freezing cold and wet but I just got into it and threw in a few slips and falls for good measure. It was really good fun.”
Stunts aside, surely the highlight had to be finally working alongside Farrell.
“As an actor, I would definitely look up to Colin and aspire to his career,” she muses.
“It was great to get the chance to work with him. He really is a lovely guy to be around and there was that familiarity from home which I liked.
“I really hope we get the chance to work together again and I’m sure we will.”
Byzantium
Violet & Daisy
Hanna 
The Way Back
