Saoirse Ronan‘s husband, Jack Lowdenwas the one who suggested she play Rona The outlet.
“He handed me the book and said, ‘You have to play this,’” Ronan, 30, said The times in an interview published on Sunday, September 15.
Lowden served as producer for the drama, which was based on Amy Liptrot‘s 2016 memoir of the same name. The outlet – which stars Stephen Dillane, Saskia Reeves And Paapa Essiedu – revolves around Rona (Ronan) who returns to her homeland, Scotland’s Orkney Islands, to heal from her past.
Ronan, who played alongside Lowden in 2018 Mary Queen of Scotlandnoted, “If you find people you love and trust creatively, why wouldn’t you want to continue working with them?”
Ronan, who calls her husband “comrade,” said she and Lowden have “very high expectations for each other.” (The couple tied the knot in July.)
‘When I tried Rona’s Orcadian accent on him The outlethe said, ‘You’re not doing that, are you?’” she recalled.
As she reflects on her role in The outletRonan explained that she had a personal connection to the story.
“[Jack] and I tried to keep an eye on the representation of Rona, how nothing else matters to her except alcohol, but also the reminder that she is human, so everyone can see themselves in her,” Ronan said.
However, alcoholism is “a world I know very well and I have experienced the pain it causes,” she said. “I have seen people I love change because of their addiction. There’s a helplessness you feel when you watch someone you love – friends my age and especially someone I’m close to – go through that. What will forever be etched in my memory is that switch, when the glaze goes over someone’s eyes and they are gone.”
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She continued, “When you come second to alcohol, you get angry, so for this role I had to put my own feelings about that aside. And I didn’t have to be angry about that anymore.”
Ronan noted that alcoholism was “a subject I wanted to explore at some point in my life, to better understand and heal.” She added: “I don’t think I would have been safe enough as a person to take on something like that, even just a few years ago.”
Growing up in rural Ireland, Co Carlow, Ronan explained that “the kids would drink because they were bored so they would go out into the fields and drink vodka or cider.”
Now, The outlet has changed her relationship with alcohol. “I’m more aware of my intake – and there are more people in my generation who are choosing to give up drinking because of how it makes them feel,” she said.
The outlet will be in cinemas from October 4.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
