'I miss the simplicity of life as a child in Ireland', says Oscar-nominated Saoirse

Saoirse Ronan says she still suffers from job insecurity

Jim Gallagher

She is the toast of Hollywood and recently secured her third Oscar nomination, but Saoirse Ronan has revealed that she still suffers from job insecurity.

The 23-year-old star of the acclaimed Lady Bird said she still has huge doubts about herself.

"Every time I act, I worry can I do it again?," she said.

"Every time I finish a job, I feel like, 'Oh God, I got away with that one'."

Nostalgic

The Carlow actress was interviewed with Lady Bird co-star Timothee Chalamet (22) about growing up on movie sets.

"I'm a people pleaser. I don't like upsetting anyone," Saoirse told the New York Times.

"But I've gotten to a point in my work where I need to stand firmly with decisions I've made or feel free to go in another direction - even if everyone around me is telling me to do the opposite. It's hard."

The actress said she looked back with fondness at her life in Ireland before her movie career.

"I get nostalgic for being very young, like seven or eight, when I was still in the countryside, when you'd go to school and have your few friends. I miss the simplicity of that."

But she is looking forward to the Academy Awards on March 4 where she is up for Best Actress for playing a precocious teenager in Lady Bird, which has also been nominated for Best Film. "When I did it with Brooklyn, it was wonderful, but also quite overwhelming," she said. "It moves on before you have time to grasp it. This time, it feels more relaxing, maybe because we're doing it together [with Chalamet, who has been nominated for Call Me By Your Name.]

Asked about the inequality women faced in the movie world, she said: "Well, it's really not an equal playing field.

"Doing press with Greta [Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated writer and director of Lady Bird], watching her speak about her experiences as a director, it's made me think, 'I'd like to try my hand at that. I'd like to direct a little film at some stage. I'll be an actor who directs on the side'. But why don't I think I can be a great director? A lot of women think a job like director, which is so authoritative, is one where a woman can only succeed so much.

Perspective

"It's only watching Greta that's changed my perspective on what I might achieve. I've always thought of myself as a confident person.

"It may have taken me a while to see how dynamics on set weren't fair.

"But I've always known, from the age of 12, that I was being asked different questions by interviewers than men: 'Who's your celebrity crush?' 'Are you putting on all the dresses?'

"All about image and crushes. That always infuriated me."