Saoirse Ronan Is Heavenly in The Lovely Bones

To play Susie Salmon, the murdered teenage narrator of the 1970s-set drama The Lovely Bones, based on Alice Sebold’s 2002 best seller, Irish actress Saoirse (pronounced SEER-shuh) Ronan donned corduroy bell-bottoms, mastered a mid-Atlantic accent, and spent a lot of time listening to David Cassidy and Brian Eno. “The fashion wasn’t that great,” the fifteen-year-old admits, “but I really liked the period. Everything was really groovy, and people had a good outlook on life.”

Time traveling has been a big part of Saoirse’s career. Last year she was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of a 1930s English country girl in Atonement; after that performance she played a 1920s Scottish con artist in Death Defying Acts. And she just wrapped next year’s The Way Back, in which she’ll be a World War II-era Polish runaway. “It’s amazing to be able to go from one year and place to the next,” she says. “I’m very lucky to do what I do. This job can open your mind to a lot of different things.”

Asked to describe exactly what she likes about acting, Saoirse demurs. “It’s a very hard thing to explain because, if you really love it, it’s a part of you. It’s like, why do you love your parents? I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” She may be pure of heart, but this budding superstar isn’t totally indifferent to the perks: “I’m living for the day that I’m offered a Chanel dress.”

© Teen Vogue