SAOIRSE RONAN

If you want an actress who can completely floor you without even saying a word, Saoirse Ronan is the real deal. No acting school fluff or fake Hollywood smiles here—this lass has been putting the shifts in since she was a kid and has turned into one of the best on the planet, all while staying completely down to earth.

She first blew everyone away at just thirteen years old in Atonement, bagging an Oscar nomination before she was even old enough to buy a lottery ticket. While most child actors fall off the rails, she just kept picking crackers. Her roles in Lady Bird and Little Women nailed all the messy, stressful parts of growing up so well that she became an instant favorite for anyone who loves proper films.

She doesn’t just chase easy Hollywood paychecks either; she loves a gritty, honest story. She was brilliant in The Outrun, playing a recovering alcoholic trying to find herself in the middle of nowhere in Scotland—a film she actually helped produce herself. She followed that up by anchoring the big wartime drama Blitz, playing a working-class London mum dodging bombs to find her lad.

Right now, she’s absolutely flying. She’s even jumping behind the camera to direct her own short film called Paper Plane, and she’s set to play Linda McCartney in those massive upcoming movies about The Beatles. She’s a top-tier talent who doesn’t do any of that pretentious celebrity nonsense, and if her name is on the poster, you know you’re getting a quality watch.

Insomniacs Trivia

• The Bronx Born Secret: Despite being the ultimate face of modern Irish cinema, Saoirse was actually born in New York. Her parents moved over to the Bronx in the 80s to find work, with her dad grafting on construction sites and bartending. They didn’t pack up and head back to Ireland until she was three, so she’s got dual citizenship.

• The Ryan Gosling Skype Pitch: When Ryan Gosling was directing his weird indie film Lost River, he wanted Saoirse so badly he didn’t even bother making her audition. He just gave her a bell out of the blue and spent an hour on Skype begging her to take the gig, telling her she was the only one who could save his bizarre movie.

• The Ed Sheeran Tattoo Prank: While filming the music video for Ed Sheeran’s massive hit “Galway Girl,” she was supposed to write the song title on his arm in marker for a tattooist to trace. Instead, she sneakily wrote “Galway Grill” just to wind him up. Ed thought it was so funny he actually had the typo permanently tattooed onto his skin.

Insomniacs Take

Saoirse Ronan is just a class act who feels completely real on screen. In an industry full of safe, overly polished actors who look and sound like they’ve been built in a factory, she brings an honesty that you just can’t fake. Whether she’s leading a heavy indie drama or a massive wartime epic, she does it with zero big-headedness. She’s a massive credit to modern films, and if you love proper, grounded acting, she’s a guaranteed safe bet.