Ronan, who was 14 when the film was made, didn’t read the book until shooting wrapped. But the script left nothing to her imagination.

“We didn’t talk about that scene much beforehand,” she said, in her thick Irish accent. “It was a few months into shooting before we did it. Both Stanley and I were quite anxious to get it out of the way, so we just went in on the day. Everything that I needed was already written for me, and Pete was there so I felt very, very safe. Luckily, Stanley and I are very comfortable with each other. I think that was essential in order to get that intensity onscreen. We could bounce off each other and sort of freak each other out, in a way.”

Tucci admitted that after every take, he would turn to Ronan, and ask her if she was OK.
“And then she would also ask me if I was OK,” he said, smiling. “It turns out that she’s the one who, in some ways, made us all feel comfortable, because she was so mature.”

“I know I wouldn’t have been able to stay in that place for the whole time because when the cameras started to roll, it was extremely intense,” said Ronan. “Stanley is such a great guy, and to see how he changes is frightening. It certainly feeds whatever performance I needed to get out.”

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