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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