Teenage Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is making a big name for herself in Hollywood.

In the process, she’s also being swept into the rumour mill, which includes the one that had her playing Snow White opposite Julia Roberts’s evil queen. That turned out not to be true.

But the 16-year-old is close to signing to play Itaril in the two-part Peter Jackson Hobbit movie. That means she’ll reunite with her Lovely Bones director to play the slinky elf dedicated to protecting the Elf King of Mirkwood.

That’s show business, as the Oscar-nominated actress is slowly finding out.

“Plenty of rumours going around,” says the smiling Ronan at a Beverly Hills hotel. “I love the rumours.”

Gossip aside, the actress also reunites with Atonement director Joe Wright for her first action film, Hanna, which opens Friday.

In the movie, she plays the title character, a teen who has been raised in an isolated part of Finland by her ex-CIA agent father (Eric Bana) to become a lethal assassin.

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When her father sends her out on a dangerous mission to eliminate a ruthless operative (Cate Blanchett), Hanna must face off with a series of highly trained killers, and face up to some unexpected questions about who she is and what she has become.

“Hanna’s very layered, yet quite simple in her outlook on life, but quite a complicated character to play,” says Ronan. “She’s been through a lot, and she’s had to deal with a lot, yet she doesn’t over-emote, ever.”

In a way, “her journey kind of mirrors what a teenager goes through, as well, which is breaking away from the comfort of your family life, and your parents, and discovering the world for yourself.”

Certainly, Ronan discovered a few things about her own potential, while preparing for the role.

Before filming started, she trained for a couple of months in L. A., then outside Dublin, where she lives with her parents. Two hours a day of martial-arts workouts were followed by another two hours of cardio training.

“And we did stick-fighting, which I loved to do, although I’ve heard it is quite a complicated thing.”

As far as Ronan is concerned, the effort paid off in a convincing way.

“Well, Hanna’s certainly about women’s empowerment,” says the actress. “Throughout her journey, I don’t really think that Hanna changes that much. But she realizes that the world is not a fairy tale. It’s tough. And it’s ugly, in some ways.”

Indeed, Ronan doesn’t seem like a first choice for a part in an action flick, but Wright knew her range after working with her as an inexperienced but naturally gifted 12-year-old performer on Atonement.

“Joe had, and has, a belief in me, which I can really feel when I work with him,” maintains Ronan. “And that’s fantastic to know — that your director truly believes you can do what you’re attempting.”

She began acting as adolescent, first in an Irish TV public-service spot and then in shows, The Clinic and Proof.

A few years later, it was her riveting portrayal in Wright’s Atonement that earned her a supporting actress Oscar nomination and a bright future, as she held her own against Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in the picture.

In 2008, Ronan was featured in Death Defying Acts opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones and City of Ember. Both movies received mediocre reviews and fizzled at the box office. She rebounded with her starring role in the 2009 Jackson film version of Alice Sebold’s bestselling novel, The Lovely Bones.

And yes, she’s looking forward to a potential reunion with Jackson if she returns to New Zealand for The Hobbit. It will be released in two parts in 2012 and 2013.

“I know they are introducing lots of new characters into the film that aren’t in the book,” Ronan says, referring to the J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

It’s always a good sign when a director rehires an actor for a job, but it’s Ronan who says she feels like the fortunate one.

“I feel very, very lucky,” she confesses. “I really do. I think it’s amazing that there are brilliant directors out there who want me. I even get shocked when they know who I am.”

All things considered, she’s making a smooth transition from adolescent to young adult.

“Well, I don’t feel like I’m a woman. Definitely not. But I do feel like I’m a full-on teenager now. I’m not 14 anymore. No messing around. ”

And no, she won’t be moving from her country home near Dublin to Los Angeles anytime soon.

“I’m back and forth,” she says. “It varies, to be honest.”

Either way, she’s home-schooled, so she’s flexible, and is thrilled to be at her family’s country house, or on set, or promoting her latest film.

“I mean, I’m just a happy person, most of the time,” Ronan says. “And I have a great family. My mom and dad travel around with me, and they’re both parts of my life that I enjoy.”

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Thanks to Caro for the tip.

The child actor we saw in Atonement is growing up, celebrating her Sweet 16 while shooting Hanna, where she plays a girl who has known no one but her father who has trained her to be an assassin and sends her across Europe on a mission. After her chilling performance in The Lovely Bones, Saoirse takes on this action role, performing most of her own stunts. She sat down with Buzzine to talk about shooting in freezing weather in Finland, the possibility of a role for her in the forthcoming Hobbit production, and the arsenal of weapons she knows how to use.

Izumi Hasegawa: [Sarcastic] Welcome to a bright and sunny Los Angeles day.
Saoirse Ronan: I know. It’s awful. It’s been so miserable since I came over here, and I was getting away from Ireland and I thought, “Oh, I’m going to have lovely weather when I come over here.” Now that didn’t happen. Oh well.

IH: Will your archery training come in handy for working on your next movie, The Hobbit?
SR: I’m not confirmed to do The Hobbit yet. If I did get a part, I’m sure it would come in handy because a lot of the characters in that film live in the woods and have makeshift weapons and things like that. So yeah, it probably would. We’ll see if that happens.

IH: What was your training like? How long did it take you?
SR: I trained for a couple of months before I started, and I would do about two hours a day in the gym. I’d work out, and I’d do weightlifting and treadmills and benchpressing and things like that. Lovely, lovely things that I want to carry on with. I did martial arts as well for about two hours in the evening. So I’d workout for about 4-1/2 to 5 hours a day for a few months.

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IH: Your character knows a lot of facts about the world but is kind of experiencing everything for the first time. What was that like for you, getting into that head space?
SR: For her to experience everything for the first time? I kind of thought of Hanna’s mind…although in some ways it was very well-developed, she’s kind of like a baby. She’s stepping out into the world, and although she’s right about all these things and knows all these facts and is fluent in all these languages, she doesn’t really know about life. I think she’s just constantly in a state of shock and excitement and awe and fascination the whole time throughout her journey. One thing I find really interesting about Hanna is that she’s only grown up with her father. That’s the only person she’s had for her company. She’s never really been in the company of a female, so when she encounters Rachel and Sophie, who are members of the family that she stays with for a while, she’s fascinated by them and she falls in love with the idea of a more well-developed version of her own gender, I guess. So I really liked that about Hanna.

IH: Growing up, had you always wanted, as an actor, to play a kickass heroine?
SR: It wasn’t really something I thought about, to be honest. I’ve always been quite an active person, especially when I was younger. When I was in primary school, I used to play lots of sports. I was a sprinter, and I did basketball and swimming and Gaelic football and things like that. So I always thought, I guess, that it would be fun to incorporate that much physical activity and work into a dramatic piece. That’s kind of what this film turned out to be. I thought it was simply just going to be an action film, but it ended up being very layered, so it was nice to have both and work with both.

IH: Which of the skills you learned will be most useful in real life?
SR: Oh, I don’t know. I mean, I use them all. I’ve got my Lugar at home. I didn’t bring it away with me, but … well, not the sticks really. When am I ever going to stick-fight anyone? Although it is fun. Well, guns always come in handy–not in real life. I don’t use guns. But I did a film since then, and I did use guns for that. I kind of knew what to expect and I knew how to handle a gun, and I know right now you’re supposed to put it down when you’re not using it–basic things like that. So I guess that would come in pretty handy.

IH: How was it shooting in Finland? Was it as cold as it looked in that forest?
SR: It was colder. One day, I think it was around -30 degrees Celsius, and that’s very cold. The crew was complaining that it was freezing, except for the Finnish crew. They were used to it. And they all had their big puffer jackets on, and their snow boots and their gloves and their hats and things like that. Eric [Bana] and I, the whole time we were there, had a bit of deer fur around our bodies, fingerless gloves that were made out of cloth or something, and that was about it. So it was difficult to fight in that, and your muscles don’t work properly. But it’s beautiful, and I think that shows on screen. It’s such an enchanting place to be. It sort of feels like you’re in a winter wonderland.

IH: Just in terms of the elements, was this a more difficult shoot than The Way Back?
SR: I guess. We went back to Morocco for Hanna as well. It was my second time going back to exactly the same place, which was bizarre. I didn’t think I’d be going back to Ouarzazate so quickly. But I felt like the first time I went on The Way Back, my body just got a shock from the intense heat that we had to deal with every day, and it really was a big, big shock for me. I felt like the second time when I went back, it wasn’t as bad, so it was only really the cold I had to contend with. I started to feel like the first time hit me harder. The Way Back was harder.

IH: You did a number of stunts. Were there any stunts that you wanted to take on or others that you did not?
SR: No, I liked doing the stunts, as long as I was safe and padded up and harnessed and things like that, I was fine. We had a fantastic stunt coordination team. We really, really did. Jeff Imada was the head of the whole thing. He’s done all the Bourne movies and he’s done about 400 projects in his life so far. Really that was one of the best parts of the film for me, because they kept me so safe and always made me feel like I was safe, and I felt like I was capable of doing whatever Joe needed me to do for the film.

IH: What is it about emotionally interesting, different roles? There are a lot of actors your age that are not taking on the challenges you’re taking on. What is it that attracts you to these types of characters and roles, and what do you look forward to be able to do with them?
SR: They’re very interesting. It’s sort of an impulse thing, I think, when I read a script. I’ll just know from reading it whether it’s a character that I’ve fallen in love with, and if somebody else gets to do it, I’ll feel awful about it. But if they get it, it’s fine. I like to play characters that are different from me, and most of the characters that I’ve played have been entirely different from me. That’s it really. I think I like to try things that are different, things that are interesting for me, and simply a character that I’ve just fallen in love with really. And when I can’t get the character out of my head and I’m in my bedroom and I start to actually act out the scenes that I’ve read in a script, I think, “Okay, I really want to do this.”

IH: If you do get to do The Hobbit, what do you love about Itaril?
SR: [Laughs] Sneaky, sneaky. I haven’t read the script, and the character that you speak of is not in the book.

IH: Oh good, because I didn’t remember it…
SR: No, she’s not in the book, so I don’t know. But they’ll make something interesting out of her, I’m sure.

IH: We saw that you had a special birthday while you were shooting. Americans call it Sweet 16.
SR: It’s so sweet! I spent my Sweet 16 in Berlin in a housing estate. I don’t know. I think it was near Leipzig or something. It was very glamorous.

IH: How did you celebrate?
SR: The day of my 16th birthday, I was working, and I remember the scene as well. It was when I was in my grandmother’s apartment. Katrin is the grandmother’s name. And Eric and I have a fight, and I jump out the window and do all that stuff. So it was lovely. But my birthday celebration was going to see Lady Gaga. I’m a massive fan. When she was in Berlin… I’m obsessed with this girl, and it was my first time going to see her, and I actually took Joe Wright to go see her. I don’t know if you’ve met Joe already, but he doesn’t seem like a Little Monster. He actually invited himself. We were in the pit of the O2 Arena in Berlin. There were all these people dressed up, gay guys everywhere, everyone was going crazy. We were all loving Gaga, and I turned around every now and again, and every single time, Joe would just have his hands crossed like this, staring at the screen like a granddad, kind of bopping his head. It was very funny.

IH: What was it like reuniting with Joe [Wright] after Atonement?
SR: It was fantastic. The relationship we had on Atonement kind of followed through into Hanna and just developed even more so. I suppose like getting to know a friend better, really. Professionally, we got to know each other and understand each other even more, and on a personal level as well, which was nice. It felt more like a collaboration on this film, and it was something that I really felt like we were doing together. It was a new direction for both of us. So we were taking a risk by doing this, and it was exciting to share that with someone who I’d gotten on so well with four years prior.

IH: What was your favorite and least favorite part of the character of Hanna?
SR: My favorite part is that she realizes she loves music. And my least favorite part is she doesn’t kiss the Spanish guy. She throws him to the ground. I don’t know. I’m just going to say that. I don’t really have a least favorite part. But I didn’t agree with her doing that. He was cute.

IH: You said you were looking for a character that is opposite of you. Who is Saoirse? How would you define yourself? We see you through each character you play, but you say you’re looking for a character that is different from yourself. So who are you?
SR: Who am I? That could take a while then. I’m a 16-year-old Irish girl who was born in New York and is also very proud to be American. I love both countries. I love music. Acting is a great love of mine. I love Lady Gaga and David Bowie, and Fiji Water is the purest water there is, in my opinion.

IH: Do you speak other languages as well?
SR: I should really learn the language properly, I think. I’d like to learn French maybe, or Italian.

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Thanks to Caro for pointing out.

Sixteen-year-old Saoirse Ronan earns her action star stripes this week as the titular assassin of Joe Wright’s thriller Hanna, a hyper-charged, globe-trotting fairytale about a feral teen sent out into the world on a mission of vengeance. With an infectious score by the Chemical Brothers to punctuate her journey, Ronan fights through droves of enemies with a fierce precision that belies her youth and petite stature — and, as Hanna discovers friendship for the first time in her life, so too does Ronan convey a blend of preternatural maturity and childlike naiveté rarely found in performers her age.

Movieline caught up with Ronan in San Francisco at WonderCon, where she appeared with director Wright (who previously directed her to an Oscar-nomination in 2007’s Atonement), to discuss Hanna, her rumored involvement in The Hobbit, her upcoming assassin black comedy Violet and Daisy, and more.

What were the most useful skills you learned in order to play Hanna — your tips for becoming a teenage assassin?
Learn how to use a knife and how to punch. Not a steak knife, but [makes slashing motion] those kinds of knives. You can practice on Eric Bana. I’ll lend him to you. [Laughs]

Why was the knife such a favorite of yours?
I enjoyed it more than anything else. It’s not cool, but having a weapon in your hand and doing all these swipes is quite elegant, I think. So I really enjoyed it — it was almost like painting. Like brushstrokes. So that was the reason I enjoyed it, because of the motion of the swipes. Also, don’t let anyone know what you’re thinking.

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That’s a key part of Hanna’s psyche, isn’t it? We see her take in the world through fresh eyes, but she’s been taught to mask her thoughts from everyone.
She has to, because no one can really know her true identity. She’s taught to speak this spiel to everyone that she meets, but it’s a complete lie. I think I just felt like it was perfect for this character, well suited for her, for her to be understated and quite unassuming. Just really naïve and innocent. She’s not quite aware of how to react to anything.

Including her only friend, played by Jessica Barden. The two of you share an innocent kiss — why did you suggest that moment during the scene?
I thought it was quite fitting for Hanna to have a physical connection with someone who she cares about. Sophie is someone who she doesn’t have anything in common with, and really they’re both opposites. One is what no one is, really, and one is what so many young teenagers are now, and for these two forces to come together and develop a very intimate relationship… and it’s not a sexual sort of romance, but it’s quite a lovely friendship. And that’s what girls do. It’s innocent, and I thought it was kind of perfect for the scene.

In regards to rumors of you joining the cast of The Hobbit, how far have talks progressed?
Well, nothing’s been confirmed yet. I know that they are introducing a lot of characters into the film, but I can’t really talk about it yet, unfortunately. But I’d love to work with them, and they’ve said in the past that they’d like to work with me again too, so it would be nice if something worked out.

Your name had been associated with Tarsem’s Snow White project until recently. Were there actual talks of you joining that project?
No, I mean I had read the script but I’m sure plenty of girls had. It was a thing that was circulating around, but nothing was official.

But you did film Violet and Daisy?
Yes, I actually shot that last year. I can’t wait!

And in that you play another assassin.
Yeah! It’s about these two best friends called Violet and Daisy who are young women assassins, and they go on this job to kill James Gandolfini’s character Michael, in order to buy a dress that their teen pop idol has just brought out. So as you can tell just from that, it’s not like Hanna at all. It’s a black comedy and it’s not an action film. It’s just bizarre; they live in their own little world and don’t really mix with anyone else, and their relationship gets tested as they start to get to know this guy that they’re supposed to kill. So it’s quite wonderful and it was fantastic the way it was written.

Did you film that before or after Hanna, and did your Hanna training help lend anything to your Violet and Daisy character?
After. Besides the handling of a gun, not really. That was kind of it. We didn’t have any fight scenes, really — just me shooting a gun.

You’ve certainly amassed a number of bad ass skills for a person your age.
You’re right, actually! I mean, for Hanna I learned bamboo stick fighting, archery, I learned how to use a knife, a gun, martial arts…

In light of comparisons to Sucker Punch, what do you think makes Hanna an empowering figure for young women?
In my opinion, the reason that Hanna is so empowering is because she is a young girl who is not in sexy clothing and is not sexy, really, in any way. She’s a bit of a misfit, especially when she steps out into the world, and is quite confused and fascinated at the same time by everything that she sees. And suddenly she turns into an animal, because these people that she’s fighting — every single one of them threatens the person that she loves, which is her father. The only world she knows. And although it is violent in some places, it’s all motivated by love. That’s quite wonderful, I think.

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Thanks to Caro for pointing out.

Irish teen actress Saoirse [pronounced Sirsha] Ronan is a Gaga “monster” and Oscar nominee (for Atonement when she was 13). The pretty girl with the ice blue eyes will be 17 on April 12th and is stoked about her birthday gift Lady Gaga concert tix. We’re curled up on a hotel couch at the 4 Seasons in Beverly Hills asking about her amazing action role as a teen on a killing mission in Hanna. Quite a change from playing a dead girl in The Lovely Bones.

A few days ago we also met with Saoirse at the trendy SLS Hotel in L.A. to munch on posh desserts and we talked boys and “The Hunger Games”. Saoirse, as well as a ton of other teen and young adult actresses, lost the Katniss part to Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence. Saoirse was okay with it. “Jennifer will be good. She’s a bit older but she’ll be good”.

After chatting cool sunglasses, we moved on to boys; “Boys really like to do weird things to get with you, like [tick] you off”. Yeah, we’ve noticed.

Back to our current chat. We’ve noticed that Saoirse has taken out her hair extensions and has kicked off her tan Miu, Miu mega-heels. She’s in a cute yellow, green and while sun dress and we’re comfy so let’s talk Hanna.

TeenHollywood: Hanna tries to kind of join the tourist family who befriends her. You have a great mom and dad. Was it hard for you to imagine being a teen without a complete family?
Saoirse: I guess I know how important my mom and dad are to me so to imagine being without them certainly wasn’t nice. I detached my situation from Hanna’s but I wouldn’t like to imagine traveling around on my own and not have their support. Yeah, maybe a few years from now but, at the moment, I’m a kid. I imagine that this business can mess with your head if you don’t have people you can trust around you.

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TeenHollywood: Like Lindsay Lohan has had a hard time. I interviewed her before all her trouble started.
Saoirse: Yeah. I’ve talked to a few people who knew her before and it’s sad it’s worked out the way it has. I hope that she’ll be able to get it together because she is talented.

TeenHollywood: We agree. There was a cute guy Hanna goes on a date with and did you (as Hanna) ever get to kiss him? Your kiss gets interrupted when Hanna decides to deck him!
Saoirse: [laughs] I think we did a take where we did the kiss. He is very cute.

TeenHollywood: Were you there when the Spanish gypsies do their great song and dances and did you get up after shooting the scene and dance?
Saoirse: We were there and I did get up and dance. It was amazing! It was the last day, a night shoot. We were working till like 7:00 in the morning. They brought in these Spanish gypsy dancers. They don’t rehearse because it’s a spiritual experience for them and different every time. We just sat by the fire and they let the cameras roll.
Then, when they finished, I went up and danced with them with my very white wig and eyebrows.

TeenHollywood: Hanna has grown up so isolated that everything in the outside world fascinates her. Was there ever anything you saw or experienced that fascinated you that much?
Saoirse: A very good question! I’ve really gotten into reading over the last few years. I get very attached when I get into a book. I read Andy Warhol’s biography “A to B and Back Again” and I loved that and felt it was amazing. Also fascinating was a video of David Bowie back in the ‘60’s going to visit Andy Warhol’s Factory and he used to be a mime artist so he did these different miming performances. In one, he got a scissors and cut out his stomach and pulled out his insides and his heart. [She sees how wide my eyes are getting]. It was performance art! I think he threw his heart away and became a bird. That was on YouTube.

TeenHollywood: Eric Bana, who plays your dad in the film, is a really big guy and you had to fight him. You’ve said that you actually hurt him because he was holding back not wanting to hit a girl?
Saoirse: I reckon so. Eric is a very sweet guy and a family man as well so, of course, he’s not gonna want to hurt a kid. We did quite a few fights together and sometimes he held back. I’d go straight for him. Then I think he realized, “Okay. I can be a little bit tougher”. It was fine in the end. In the movie Funny People, his arms were described as legs so every time I’d punch him, I’d have a “leg” hit me back on my scrawny little arms. [She pokes one out and yes, it’s petite].

TeenHollywood: Hanna is friends with wolves and pets them. Was that fun to shoot or were they just scary?
Saoirse: I didn’t like them. They weren’t full wolves. They were wolves crossed with Huskies. Then another one was a German Shepherd and wolf cross.

TeenHollywood: Did they try to bite you?
Saoirse: The first ones did and it was kind of annoying because Joe [Wright, her director] was like “Just get in there and don’t be scared or they’ll know”. I get on well with dogs. I love dogs. He’d say “They’re just dogs”. They are not dogs. I was wearing deerskin when I met them and they smelled the animal and started nibbling at my body. They thought I was prey. “Get me the… F.. out of here!” It wasn’t fun at all. The baby ones were okay but I was in a hole with them and they gave them a bone. Then when they tried to take it away they were all grrrrrrrrr. But the camels were lovely. I think they’re nice.

TeenHollywood: You really kick butt in this movie. Did you ever think that someday you might want to be an action hero like Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider or Salt?
Saoirse: Not really. I’d probably pretended to be an action hero when I was playing but it was never something I thought of as a type of film I’d be involved in but I’m glad I did. I’m glad I tried it and that we made something that was interesting out of an action role.

TeenHollywood: Now that you will be seventeen in a few days, will you consider playing a 20-year-old or do you always just want to play your age?
Saoirse: Yeah, I can be made to look older. I wouldn’t have a problem of playing older but not somebody like twenty-five. I wouldn’t pass for that.

TeenHollywood: Was there any bumpy transition when you became an older teen and not a tween or kid actor anymore?
Saoirse: Not really. I haven’t made a big transition to be honest. Since I was a kid I’ve always played very grown-up type roles. They’ve been children but they’ve been intense, detailed and smart children. I’ve never done the little kiddy-cutesie thing. Because of that, I think the transition has been easier. The roles I’m looking at now some of them are the age I am and some are older, eighteen or nineteen. It hasn’t been a problem so far.

TeenHollywood: Was it intimidating to be headlining your own film? I mean this is really your movie.
Saoirse: I was a little bit worried. I always get worried that I’m not gonna do a character justice because I really want to. So far I’ve played characters that I’ve really cared about and wanted them to be seen in their truest light. With Hanna, when I realized that she was quite an interesting character and, if people don’t get her, she is just like all the other action heroines. That was a worry I had.

TeenHollywood: What was working with Cate Blanchette like?
Saoirse: I didn’t know what to expect with Cate. I knew she was a nice person because Pete and Fran (Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh) in New Zealand had worked with her before and they loved her and said how professional she was. And, my dad (actor Paul Ronan) worked with her in Veronica Guerin. He told me about her and it was lovely and fantastic to work with her. She didn’t really give me any pointers but we worked well together. She was everything they said she was.

TeenHollywood: Okay so what is the coolest thing about Lady Gaga to you and how stoked are you about going to her concert here in L.A. as a birthday gift from your folks (her birthday is April 12th)?
Saoirse: [laughing] Now, everybody knows I’m a “monster”…a big fan. The coolest thing about Lady Gaga is that she knows exactly what move to make next. She’s completely honest and true with her fans and she’s real. I know she’s a performance artist and puts on a show but she seems like a very real person. I like that about her and she’s amazing on the piano. That duet she did with Elton John was brilliant!

TeenHollywood: You made a film called Violet and Daisy. Tell us about your part.
Saoirse: Violet and Daisy are two best friends who are hit girls but she is not like Hanna so don’t worry. It’s set in New York City and they live in their own perfect little world where puppy dogs run about and Barbie Sunday is their teen idol and she’s kind of like Lady Gaga to me. Barbie comes out with a new dress so they go on a job in order to pay for the dress and they’re supposed to kill James Gandolfini’s character. Yeah, kill Tony Soprano [we laugh].

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Thanks to M for the heads up.

Hanna isn’t your normal father-daughter drama. Joe Wright’s dizzying and dangerous action thriller instead tells the not-so-sweet story of an ex-CIA operative (Eric Bana) who shapes his only daughter (Saoirse Ronan) into a flawless killing machine. Together, they go after the vindictive government leader (Cate Blanchett) who’s hell-bent on eliminating these rogue agents. Sounds vicious, but Ronan and Bana couldn’t have been sweeter as we sat down to discuss Twilight, James Bond, mixed martial arts, and that moment when you realize the world is a terrible place.

Q: Saoirse, you kick so much rear end in this film.
Saoirse Ronan: That’s such a great way to put it!

Q: Your character, Hanna, has a very good chance of knocking off Twilight’s Bella Swan as the top female role model for teenage girls.
SR: That has always been my hope. No, I’m kidding. But I really do hope that she becomes [a role model]. You are never really sure how things are going to work out and what kind of style that people are going to latch onto. But Hanna is a fantastic female character, especially for young women, because she is strong. And this wasn’t made sexy or anything like that. It was quite elegant in its style and in her style. She is a very naïve and innocent little girl who just happens to be a cold-blooded killer.

Q: If they offered you the role of James Bond, would you take it?
SR: Of course I would. That tux? I could totally rock it.

Q: Eric, you have children. Did you connect to the film’s underlying theme of preparing your children for that day when they finally leave the nest and have to tackle the evils of the world on their own?
Eric Bana: Oh, yeah, I saw it like that. To me, it was a loss-of-innocence story for young people, but it also addressed, for adults, that point in our lives where we suddenly go, “Wow, the world can be a big, ugly place.” That can happen at all different ages, and I loved that about his story.

SR: And I know I felt exactly the same way when I was making the film. I thought it captured what a normal teenager goes through around this time. All teenagers want to rebel a little and break away. But I think you are always going to want to go back to your parents for that safety they provide.

Q: Do either of you have action heroes from other films whom you like to emulate when you are going through your fight sequences?
EB: I actually look to draw inspiration from athletes and real sporting people. This had a mixed-martial-arts component, which I hadn’t done before, and the stunt guys filled my head with a lot of pretty gruesome YouTube stuff that was quite handy. [Laughs] Some of the UFC stuff that I hadn’t seen before.

Q: Franchises are the rage in Hollywood today. Did you ever have discussions with Joe Wright about where Hanna’s story could go?
SR: No, but I have been thinking about it a lot these past few days. I don’t know if they are planning on doing a sequel. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how it does. But I’m not quite sure, to be honest. What do you think?

Q: I thought the film told of a singular mission, but there are an endless stream of killers the shady government could send after you.
SR: That’s true. If we could make it as detailed and as layered as this film, then maybe it could work.

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- The first question of the panel went to Wright: why do a film like this after movies like Atonement and Pride & Prejudice? But the director said that Ronan was actually the one who suggested that he take it on. One of the things that attracted him to it was the fact that “it’s not a franchise, not based on a comic, not even based on fairytale specifically,” which allowed the director creative license to dream up his own world.

- Wright joked that two of the bad guys in the film were actually inspired by his own bullies from when he was growing up. “It was my way of getting back at them, by having them slain by a girl,” he quipped.

- Ronan beats up guys twice her size in the flick, and the actress endured plenty of training to get the fight scenes, particularly in martial arts. “I suddenly had muscle in my arms, and I was strong,” she said. “I had never experienced that before!”

- As for why Ronan loved the script, she explained: “It’s important that we have strong female characters in movies now.” And unlike other “sexy or cool” leading women in film, Ronan likes that Hanna is a misfit. “She is weird, and I think Hanna as an action heroine — if that’s what you want to call her — is quite elegant in her temperament and behavior except when she’s kicking ass. I think we haven’t seen an action heroine like this yet.”

- Wright also touched on the importance of heroines in movies, and got up on his soapbox to address female empowerment. “The place of young women in society, and the continued sexual objectification of women — I find that whole culture terrifying and kind of disgusting really,” he said. “I wanted to address that with this film. I remember when the Spice Girls came out in the ’90s and they called it ‘girl power.’ I think that’s bullsh*t. I probably shouldn’t say this, but I look at posters for recent films with girls kicking ass; there’s one out at the moment, in bikinis and crop tops, and this is supposedly female empowerment, and that’s bullsh*t. Female empowerment is not about sex; that’s the point of female empowerment. It’s about brains. So I was very keen to look at those issues with this movie, and Hanna exists outside of that.” Obviously Wright was getting in a dig at Sucker Punch, but his little speech received huge cheers from the audience.

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