Thanks to Caro for pointing out,

“[Director Joe Wright and I have] talked about it a little bit because journalists keep bringing it up,” she said with a laugh. “You’re like the tenth one or something, at least!”

“But it’s great that people have that kind of reaction to it,” she quickly added, affirming that, yes, she would love to pursue a “Hanna” sequel.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” she said. “Obviously it depends on how the movie does and things like that, but it’d be something I’d be up for.”

With the solid box-office numbers in place, maybe it’s just a matter of finding the right story at this point. Luckily, Ronan has some ideas.

“We were trying to come up with a sequel story the other day,” she said. “Maybe she would go to New York City or something like that, or become a celebrity. Maybe she’ll go to space!”

Err, space? Maybe not. But Ronan is open for suggestions — in fact, she’d like to hear from you! — and, even better, is wide open to the idea of more “Hanna.”

“It’d be good to do,” she said. “If the story was as well developed as the first one and it wasn’t just for the sake of doing a sequel, it’d be great fun.”

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Weekend Box Office Actuals (Apr 8 – 10)
1. Hop – $21,298,240
2. Hanna – $12,370,549
3. Arthur – $12,222,756
4. Soul Surfer – $10,601,862
5. Insidious – $9,371,769

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The Lady Miz Diva: When we first met you spoke about Jeff Imada a little bit and since then he and I have spoken and he’s your fan club. Tell us about training with him and meeting with the martial arts legend Dan Inosanto?
Saoirse Ronan: Well, I only met Dan Inosanto once but he was a lovely, lovely man. I actually began training at the Inosanto Academy in LA, so it was a great place to start cos that’s where Jeff is based. He basically designed a very individual fighting style for Hanna. When I went back to Ireland that was what we worked on. There were different fight moves that I learned, but it was put together in a very fluid way and that’s something that Jeff does very well, he’s very, very talented. I worked out in the gym for about 2 hours every day. I got muscle definition and that was something I wasn’t used to at all. I was suddenly stronger, you know? I was starting to hold myself differently and walk in a different way. It’s a very empowering feeling when you’ve stepped out of the gym and you’ve had a really intense training session.

LMD: What was your favourite style of martial arts?
SR: I like the push kick, actually. Isn’t it awesome? And I like using the bamboo sticks, as well.

LMD: As Hanna seems like a rare action film for girls …
SR: For ladies!

LMD: For ladies, I wondered what you hoped ladies would take away from Hanna?
SR: Strength, I guess. I don’t wanna sound too cheesy or anything … I can sound a little bit cheesy. When I walked away from that film — I’ve only seen it once, but I was very excited. I don’t think the character of Hanna necessarily changed, which I kind of like. I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s not like she really has an arc. She goes through these experiences and she’s sent on a mission to get rid of a particular problem, which is Marissa Wiegler, and once she does that that’s kind of it. She’s a blank canvas and I think people can kind sort of paint whatever they want on to her and I like that about her. I like that she stays they way she is. She stays different and kind of weird and she stays a freak.

LMD: Were there any films that you watched to get you into Hanna’s head?
SR: Joe got me to watch Being There, with Peter Sellers. That was more of a character study, I guess. He’s this man who hasn’t really been involved in society ever and now suddenly he’s the center of attention and has to deal with people a lot. It was a good thing to watch. I didn’t really watch any action films, just Being There.

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Here’s the top 5 friday box office results:
1. Hop – $5.4 Million
2. Arthur – $4.5 Million
3. Hanna – $4.1 Million
4. Soul Surfer – $3.6 Million
5. Your Highness – $3.7 Million

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Thanks again to M for the heads up.

In just a few short years, Saoirse Ronan has made a name for herself. After winning over many critics as a petulant pre-teen in “Atonement,” Ronan appeared in the family adventure, “City of Ember,” and then took the lead role in Peter Jackson’s production of Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones.” Ronan’s role as the title character in “Hanna” gives her a literal opportunity to flex her muscles, as she plays a pint-sized assassin who squares off against Cate Blanchett. Speakeasy sat down with Ronan in Los Angeles, where the 16-year-old actress offered a few insights about her artistic process, as well as her professional ambitions.

Speakeasy: “Hanna” director Joe Wright has mentioned that you were attached to this even before him. What position are you in now to be having to audition or pursue roles as opposed to being offered them because people like what you’ve already done?
More of the latter, which is amazing. I mean, there are a few projects that I have to audition and sometimes persuade people I can do it, but luckily most of the time people come to me with these scripts and just want me to do it straightaway, I guess because they’ve seen what I’ve done in the past and it’s sort of like a show reel that they’ve all been given – which is wonderful. It’s fantastic, you know, especially if it’s a project you’re interested in; the whole audition process is kind of awkward – you’re never really fully comfortable when you do them.

Are you being primarily offered these more unique or unusual projects, or are you just choosing them from a broader selection that includes more conventional material? And how interested are you in pursuing more conventional material?
I would like to do both. I mean, the characters that I’ve played are really interesting and different and weird – and very different to me. But it’s just kind of turned out that way; I would like to play more of a normal girl, of course, but the character would still need to be interesting and not boring, and the scripts would need to be clever. And I have read a few of those that are floating around right now, and it’s great that people want to introduce proper American teen comedies again, like “Juno,” and the films in the ‘80s like “Ferris Bueller” and “The Breakfast Club,” that are clever and they kind of fight for teenage-hood, instead of making it all pretty or glamorous. Or do it the other way, the other extreme, which is that we’re all miserable and we want to slit our wrists and stuff. So I would like to find a character who is just a normal girl, but the story is very cleverly written.

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How few and far between are those kinds of scripts?
I’ve found a few, and I’m so glad I have. My agent just knows not to send me the other crappy things, because I just don’t like that. And it’s fine for some people – I mean, they’re very popular – but I’m just not into those kind of films, even as an audience member. I don’t think I’d like to, not right now, anyway, do something like that. So luckily my agent knows what kind of things I’m looking for, and he’s looking for, and he sends me really interesting things and we all talk about it and it’s a real group decision between me and my parents and my agents.

Eric Bana described your relationship as more of a brother and sisterly one. Do you find that you get along more easily with older performers, or do you prefer kids your own age?
I’m pretty comfortable around everyone. I mean, I’m around adults so much it’s nice to spend time with people my own age as well, and I think when you find the right ones, kids my own age are quite interesting. Because we’re forming our own opinions and we feel very strongly about certain things and so it’s great to be around people like that as well.

How do you make sure that as you take on these new projects, the art that you create does mean something?
Just be truthful, I think, and the only person I can do that for is myself. If I’m doing a scene and it doesn’t feel right, I just have to stop – I say wait, can I start again. Because if you don’t feel like you’re telling the truth, there’s not much point, and sometimes people won’t even read it that way; sometimes a director will think it’s amazing, but you don’t really feel it in your heart.

I understand that one of the things you’re doing next is “Snow White.”
That’s what they say!

Is that not true?
No, not really. It’s one of the projects that’s out there at the moment, but we’re luckily very busy, and there’s a few projects that are floating around.

Do you know what’s immediately next for you?
No, I don’t – I wish I did! I wish I could have something to confirm that yes, I’m doing that. But I don’t. But I did a film called “Violet & Daisy” last year, and Alexis Bledel is in that, and James Gandolfini, and that should be out sometime this year.

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Thanks to M for the heads up.

“I’m sorry, my voice might be a little hoarse,” Saoirse Ronan cautions when she gets on the phone from Los Angeles, where she is doing press for “Hanna.”

The night before, the star of the hard-driving, surprisingly emotional action flick attended the Lady Gaga concert at the Staples Center. This morning, her Irish accent has an even more loamy quality.

“It was amazing. It was absolutely fantastic,” says Ronan.

The concert tickets were a birthday gift from her parents. In a little less than a week, the actress with eight films and one Academy Award nomination to her credit will turn all of 17.

Most actors who come to the big screen as children migrate to adult careers with varying degrees of success. Got it: Anne Hathaway. Figuring it out: Zac Efron. Flailing miserably: Lindsay Lohan.

From the start, Ronan eluded the box. Even at 12, she never seemed to be a “child actor,” just a gifted performer guided by intriguing choices.

“We have seen kids who are great when they’re young, but when they get into their teens, they aren’t that impressive anymore,” she says. “Because it’s a hard thing to do, convince people that you’ve developed and grown up. Because maybe they always want to see you as an 8-year- old. I’ve never considered myself a child actor.”

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Born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Ireland, Ronan is the only child of actor Paul Ronan and a one-time nanny, Monica Ronan. She appeared in a couple of Irish television series. But her great promise came to luminous light when she portrayed Briony Tallis in the 2007 adaptation of Ian McEwan’s wartime novel “Atonement.”

She was 13 and became one of the youngest actors to receive an Oscar nomination, for her turn as the young girl who allows a lie to tragically derail the lives of those near to her — sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Cecilia’s love, Robbie (James McAvoy).

Briony might have been played as a bad seed, a cold catalyst of disaster. Instead, Ronan captured a youngster who was powerfully observant but not (contrary to her own assessment) wise beyond her years.

Ronan has an almost preternatural trust in the camera to locate meaning and emotions in her blue eyes, her pale, beautiful — not easily pretty — face. And the roles she’s chosen to play — an envious little sister, a victim of a hideous crime in “The Lovely Bones,” a Russian girl on an impossible trek in “The Way Back” — speak to a career already driven by rich characters.

“Hanna” reunites Ronan with “Atonement” director Joe Wright for a ride as contemporary as the elegant romance was bound to its World War II time period.

A trained animal

“Hanna” is a kinetic, volatile fairy tale about a wicked witch (Cate Blanchett) hunting down an innocent if lethal girl. Eric Bana portrays the father and one-time CIA asset who’s done much to prepare his daughter physically for a showdown but little to aid her unschooled soul.

“She seems, to me, to have a very simple outlook on life. She’s been trained her whole life and been through very strict regimen. And she’s very disciplined. But she’s kind of like an animal who’s been trained, like a dog or something,” says Ronan.

“When she steps out into the world, everything, absolutely everything, is new to her. She’s never experienced any of it before. As an actor that’s so brilliant to play with, to basically have the mind of a young child, so fresh and naive and fascinated by everything.”

Watching Hanna’s curiosity unfold is just as satisfying as watching her take on her red-haired nemesis.

And we’d like to say that Ronan continues to make a name for herself. Only, that first name is, she admits, “the thing the press has gotten wrong most.”

It’s pronounced “SIR-shuh.” Practice. Memorize. We’ll be saying it for years to come.

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What is it about this starry-eyed young actress that makes directors see a monster? Saoirse Ronan, soon to be 17, stars in the new action-thriller Hanna as a single-minded child assassin targeting the CIA, in particular an ice-cold agent played by Cate Blanchett; and in her next film, Violet & Daisy, she plays the comedic version, as a bubble-gum popping, gun-slinging hit-girl. After making her breakthrough in Atonement, earning an Oscar nomination for playing a unforgiving, heartsick young girl who ruins the lives of two adults, she became the go-to actress for sinister characters with a sweetheart veneer. Even in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, as the victim of a child-murderer, the Irish actress was the centerpiece of the darkest of storytelling, narrating the aftermath of her own demise, including the story of the man who slayed her.

Hanna delves deep into another disturbed psyche — of a little girl who has only learned two things: how to survive and how to kill. Directed by Joe Wright, who also guided her in Atonement, it is a surreal and truly grim fairy tale (accompanied by a techno Chemical Brothers score) about a young woman reared in the wilderness who is finally unleashed on Blanchett’s wicked step-mother-figure. Hanna is simultaneously Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, joined into one.

“She’s not a very human person,” Ronan concedes. “She’s grown up as, not cold, but she’s quite detached.” Wright had Ronan’s hair bleached blond, including her eyebrows and eyelashes, rendering them almost invisible and lending the character an eerie blank expression. “It was done to have the center of the face be the eyes,” she says. “If you’ve seen Atonement, you can see Joe focuses a lot on my eyes. I guess he wanted to do that on this as well. He wanted to take away everything that took away from the blue of my eyes.”

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Ronan’s eyes may be the movie’s most intense special effect. And let’s face it — they make the rest of us look like our eyes are two raisins sunken in bread dough — a comparison that makes Ronan laugh and say she’s flattered. A sense of humor is not something Hanna the character shares with the actress who plays her

“She experiences everything very honestly,” Ronan says. “She’s grown up in the place where she is surrounded by wildlife and animals and no other person except this man. So she doesn’t have anything to take reference from.” When given the choice to return to civilization and find this mysterious CIA woman, she’s as eager to go as any teenager with a freshly acquired driver’s license (something Ronan is about to get in real life.)

What separates Hanna from other child assassins — like Hitgirl in Kick-Ass, or Natalie Portman in The Professional — is the character’s naïveté. “I find with Hanna, she’s an animal,” Ronan says. “That kind of innocence is really different from what we’ve seen connected to other killers before her. The younger action heroines we’ve seen have always been quite cute and a little bit cocky, and come up with these really cool catchphrases after they shoot someone in the head. And it’s all made quite light.” The actress shrugs. “Maybe that’s why people will like her, because she’s not cool. She doesn’t have cool purple hair. And she doesn’t wear a cape.”

She gets to play that side — the cocky, catch-phrase-y kind of gunslinger — in Violet & Daisy, an independent movie that hasn’t yet set its release date. Directed by Geoffrey Fletcher, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Precious, Ronan plays Daisy and Gilmore Girls’ Alexis Bledel is Violet, two pretty young things who are also contract killers. “I was worried for [Fletcher] to have an actor who had just done a film where I am a killer. But you’ll see when Violet & Daisy comes out, they couldn’t be more different [from Hanna],” Ronan says. “Daisy is a really, really sweet girl. She’s not a natural killer like Violet is. Violet is a bit messed up, and she’s quite tough on the outside. She’ll face anything. And she seems quite cold, but she’s been through an awful lot.”

This time, Ronan plays the mother figure. “Daisy’s the one who keeps them together and keeps everything intact. But it’s bizarre.” How bizarre? “Well, they meet at a doll hospital,” Ronan says. “They are the best of friends and live together and don’t really mix with the outside world. They have their own little world. And everything is poppy and fun and about puppy dogs and dresses. They’re taking on this job because they want to get this dress that their pop idol has. Her name is Barbie Sunday.”

Ronan is more circumspect about another potential role, reteaming with Jackson on The Hobbit, though it’s a safe bet she will turn up. “Well, according to IMDB,” she says, coyly, “I’m playing an elf called Itaril. But I’d love to be in it. Pete and I want to work together again. It’s something that hopefully we’ll work out.”

Ronan says she felt like she changed on Hanna. On previous movies, she tended to sit quietly and just do as she was told. But now she feels more invested, more in control of the story she’s helping to tell. “I’m surprised it happened on this film, because I didn’t think it would. But I felt like I walked away from that film more grown up.”

In some ways, she didn’t walk away at all. Hanna hangs with her, and as Ronan steps into adulthood, she wonders about the fate and future of her character. “A lot of people have been asking about whether we should do a sequel or not. I think it would be interesting because she is such a blank canvas.” After a long pause, she adds: “It’s probably a bit dramatic to say she would kill herself, but I actually wonder if she’d be able to handle it. She has no one.”

There’s a line in the movie where Hanna wonders if there are other children like her out there, whose lives were stolen solely to make them killing machines. It sounds silly, but maybe she’d become a kind of distaff Rambo figure, tough as nails, and waging a solo war on behalf of other innocents. Ronan laughs at any comparison between her and Sylvester Stallone. “But she could do something like that, couldn’t she?” Ronan agrees. “She’s really affected, and it’s a beautiful line when she says: ‘Were there other children?’”

Maybe someday, Ronan will return to the character. The future is wide open. All lives are a work in progress, even for a character trained to end them.

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Saoirse Ronan
Forget “Atonement.” Forget “The Lovely Bones.” Fantastic as those performances are, “Hanna” brings Ronan her big breakout role. Describing her as mini-Jason Bourne does not do justice to the incredible feats of physical, mental and emotional strength this young killer accomplishes over the course of this film. Ronan’s already had quite the diverse career, and her step into the action genre is a bold and exciting one.

The Supporting Cast
Eric Bana turns in a reliably compelling performance as Hanna’s mentor and father, though it’s Cate Blanchett as the wicked Marissa Wiegler who steals the show. The spread of thoroughly evil characters in Blanchett’s resume are few and far between, and her turn as the relentlessly ruthless Wiegler is a deeply-cut notch in her accomplished belt of performances. Beyond Bana and Blanchett, major props go out to the other supporting players from Tom Hollander as the whistling sadist Isaacs to the true-to-today’s-youth-culture performance from Jessica Barden.

The Action
Make no mistake—though “Hanna” plays with many genres and storytelling motifs, it is fully populated by frenetic violence, intriguing espionage and impossible feats of power. It’s an eye-popping visual ride that director Joe Wright handles with surprising expertise, especially given his reputation a period piece filmmaker. Just as “Hanna” marks a bold new career move for Ronan, Wright proves here that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the action arena.

The Chemical Brothers
Have you heard that soundtrack? It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Now imagine that very same score humming and thumping beneath and above the surface of numerous sequences where the hell-bent Hanna efficiently and decisively tears her way through African and European landscapes. Need I say more?

The Complexity
“Hanna” is not a simple film. From genre-bending to visual trickery, this is a movie that blends many different elements of cinema into one wholly unique package. As Ronan herself explains: “I came out of the film and I kind of thought, what have I just seen? It was amazing. My heart was pumping. The music was so heavy the whole way through. And I still had all the characters in my head. But what the hell had I just seen?” Indeed, “Hanna” is not forgettable. It’s the kind of movie that sticks with you for the rest of the night, long into the weekend and then some. I won’t speak for you, but that’s more than enough reason to earn my ticket money.

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I’ve added the captures from Saoirse’s interview on Young Hollywood and you can watch the interview here. Thanks to Caro for the link.

“It was rigorous, but it was great,” Ronan told MTV News of her training process. “I trained for about two months before we started shooting, and I learnt new skills like knife fighting, stick fighting, how to shoot a gun, martial arts. There was a style designed by Jeff Amada, who’s the stunt coordinator, and it was created specifically for the character of Hanna. It was based on the strength and energy and body type and things like that. We worked on that every single day, and I felt like I was starting to walk differently. I’d hold myself differently. I felt stronger, just after a few weeks. It was amazing. It was a great way to focus.”

“I didn’t think I couldn’t do it, but I wanted to do my best,” Ronan said of tackling such an action-heavy role. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist, I guess, so I pushed myself quite a bit. I had a personal trainer to push me quite a bit as well. It was probably the most preparation I’ve ever done for a film, definitely the most physical preparation.”

“I think he held back a little bit, because he was fighting a little girl,” she said. “But I had a little voice in my ear — maybe it was Joe Wright, I don’t know — and he said, ‘Just go for it! Just do it!’ So I went for it. You just gotta do it.”

And don’t expect her to feel guilty about it, either. “It was good fun, kicking the Hulk’s ass!” she laughed.

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