Saoirse Ronan Says Her New FilmThe OutrunChanged Her Relationship with Alcohol: 'I'm More Conscious of My Intake'

Mar. 15, 2025

Saoirse Ronan in January 2024.Photo:Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Saoirse Ronan attends “The Outrun” Premiere during the 2024 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre on January 19, 2024 in Park City, Utah.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Saoirse Ronanis getting candid about her latest role.

In an interview withThe Timespublished on Sunday, Sept. 15, theFoestar spoke about howThe Outrunaffected her relationship with alcohol.

Ronan, 30, stars as Rona inThe Outrun,an adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s 2016 memoir of the same name about the author’s recovery from alcoholism. After acting inThe Outrun, Ronan said that she has changed her alcohol consumption habits.

“I’m more conscious of my intake — and there’s more people of my generation who are choosing not to drink any more because of how it makes them feel," theLittle Womenactress said.

Saoirse Ronan in ‘The Outrun’ as Rona.Sony Pictures Classics

Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun

Sony Pictures Classics

Ronan added that she’s seen “people I love change because of addiction.”

“There’s a helplessness you feel when you watch someone you love — friends my age and one in particular who I’m close to — go through that,” she continued. “What will be etched in my brain for ever is that switch, when the glaze goes over someone’s eyes and they are gone.”

“If you’ve become second best to alcohol you become resentful, so for this role I needed to put my own feeling towards it to one side,” she explained. “And I needed not to be angry about that any more.”

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Saoirse Ronan in February 2024.Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Saoirse Ronan attends the “The Outrun” premiere during the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin

Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Alcoholism was a topic she “wanted to explore at some stage” in her life to better understand and heal: “I don’t think I would have been secure enough as a person to take something like that on even a few years ago.”

When growing up in the Irish countryside of Co Carlow, Ronan said that kids would drink vodka or cider in a field “because they were bored.”

The Outrunarrives in theaters on Oct. 4.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

source: people.com