Saoirse Ronan has been in many critically acclaimed projects and her acting prowess is undeniable. However, the actress could have added an iconic role from a magical franchise to her resume – ‘Harry Potter’. She was among the 15,000 girls who showed up to audition for the eccentric character of Luna Lovegood.
Luna was introduced in ‘Harry Potter and The Order Of the Phoenix‘. Ronan said that she was too young for the role and the coveted part eventually went to Evanna Lynch.
Saoirse Ronan’s ‘Harry Potter’ Loss Stayed With Her For Years
Ronan revealed during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she auditioned for the role of Luna Lovegood in ‘Harry Potter‘. The Irish actress made her acting debut in the 2003 medical drama ‘The Clinic’. Roughly around the same time she also auditioned for the 2007 Harry Potter film and eventually lost the role to Evanna Lynch.
Ronan auditioned for the role when she was 12 years old and brought it up when Kimmel asked her if she regrets passing on. The actress replied, “There’s things you’ll pass on and then they come out and you think, ‘Oh God, that was a misstep on my part,” she started. However, that wasn’t the case with Harry Potter. “I think the one that stayed with me over the years — I didn’t say no to it, I just didn’t get the part, I lost again — I had gone up for Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter years ago.”
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‘The Lady Bird’ star further explained, “It was like, the Irish character, so they got everyone Irish in, like half of Ireland to come and audition.” Although her remark was meant to be humorous, the casting for the few new characters in the movie series, which began in May 2005, and spanned across 2006, included thousands of people. Lynch who ended up getting the role, did a terrific job of embodying Luna. But who knows, how Ronan might’ve fared at Hogwarts.
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There are no hard feelings about losing the role, though. Ronan did express her sadness over losing the part of Luna Lovegood over the years but she explained that she has a tradition to start the films around Halloween and watch them up to Christmas. “That’s a rule with the films”, Ronan told Kimmel.
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She didn’t get the role in the movie, although she would have been great for it. Lynch who did get the part was a longtime Potterhead and often wrote letters to J.K. Rowling who wrote her back. No doubt she did the part justice, and truly made the quirky character her own. However, that doesn’t mean Ronan’s Harry Potter journey is over.
As Warner Bros. announced a new television adaptation of Harry Potter, Ronan would be perfect for a role in the HBO series. Although she can’t tackle the role of Lovegood anymore, she would make the best option for a Hogwarts professor.
