Waif vs. Waif: Mia Wasikowska vs. Saoirse Ronan
Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 8:28PM [This guest post is from Ester Bloom, recently reader-spotlighted. She and I were speaking off-blog about how much we missed the old shuttered website Fame Tracker. Ester whipped up this homage to one of their best series "Two Stars: One Slot". We hope you enjoy. -Nathaniel R.]
Battle of the Stars With Unpronouncable Names
Mia & Saoirse on May 2nd, 2011 at the Met Costume Gala
Saoirse (“Sur-shuh”) Ronan and Mia Wasikowska (“Vash-i-kov-ska”) burst upon the scene at roughly the same time: In 2007, S. Ronan lent much-needed eeriness to Joe Wright’s Atonement in her first major role and received an Academy Award nomination. In 2008, Mia W. elevated both the HBO series “In Treatment” and the Daniel Craig vehicle Defiance, earning a place as one of Variety magazine’s “Actresses to Watch” in the process.
Since then, neither actress has sat on her hands. S. Ronan gave critics something to praise about Peter Jackson’s misconceived but lush adaptation of The Lovely Bones. Mia W. brought gravitas to Tim Burton’s misconceived but lush adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and helped made 2010 The Year of the Teenage Virgin with her role as the daughter in Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right.
Mia W. skipped ahead with a career-defining turn as the fierce, independent, young star of Jane Eyre, matching the intensity of Michael Fassbender. S. Ronan caught up by embodying another titular character: the fierce, independent, young star of Hanna, where she matched the intensity of Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett.
Mia as "Jane Eyre" & Saoirse as "Hanna"
Both parchment-skinned, fiery-eyed women hail from the former British Empire: though S. Ronan was born in New York, she was raised in Ireland, and Mia W. is from Canberra, Australia. They are only five years apart in age, and in many ways they could be sisters: they share a self-possession and a grace not easily found among Hollywood starlets. (Try to imagine either of them falling out of a limo, half-dressed.)
But where do they go from here? S. Ronan appears later this year in another popcorn flick about teenage assassins called Violet and Daisy directed by Geoffrey Fletcher (an Oscar winner for the screenplay of Precious). It could be good—Hanna is good, anxiety-inducing fun—but the presence of Alexis Bledel as a co-star doesn’t inspire confidence. After that, S. Ronan will return to form (and to screen with Cate Blanchett) in another, hopefully better, Peter Jackson vehicle, The Hobbit.
Mia W. has chosen a more indie route, joining the crew of Gus Van Sant’s Restless and Rodrigo Garcia’s Albert Nobbs, as well as several other small-budget projects.
Both of these steely sylphs have it in them to succeed despite their tongue-twisting names. Who has the edge? S. Ronan’s Hanna scared the bejesus out of audiences and Manohla Dargis, and she is already one of the youngest actresses to get an Oscar nomination; she has proven she can play to the mainstream and to art houses. Mia W. could manage a Best Actress nod this year for Jane Eyre and has plenty of other roles that will be catnip to Oscar on the horizon, but she hasn’t yet proven her box office chops. We have faith in both and this could easily be a draw, but Mia W., with more serious projects coming up, gets the edge.
Advantage: Mia W.
Reader Comments (35)
On paper, I think on paper Wasikowska's projects look better but I think Ronan is more talented. Saoirse may be doing Joe Wright's Anna Karenina and Emma Thompson's Effie this year so if u want "serious" there ya go. It would have been cool if Mia replaced Mulligan in Violet and Daisy rather than Bledel. But these 2 are both fantastic.
FYI...this mysterious Judd Apatow movie that Mia is in called "Stainless Steel" doesnt even exist.
"Stainless Steel" is indeed fake. IMDb is notorious for posting false information from time to time.
Anyway, you might want to fix "Wasikowska" in the headline. Great article, though; I enjoyed it.
Kyle and JP... can you provide a link to this news? It's always helpful when these things come up. Nothing appears to be in dispute about this project at IMDb. The only fishy thing being that there are no news items about it. But there's not even any news items proclaiming it false.
Here's a link to its IMDb message board that provides an explanation: <url>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1842477/board/flat/178956845</url>
oh fametracker RIP
this was great; is it going to be a regular feature?
I agree, I hope the series continues.
I have to say Mia wins this one hands down for me. I'm interested to see her work in Albert Nobbs, since she's paired with Rodrigo Garcia again. Her best work to date, in my opinion, was her season of In Treatment, so I'm interested to see what else Garcia can bring out of her.
Love the concept of this article!
I'm not sure I disagree on the cocnlusion but I think it's hard to say.
I mean, even if Mia has more interesting things coming in the near future, Saoirse is still much younger and already has a nomination.
Tough call, I think but maybe Saoirse is on top because she's being what Dakota Fanning was supposed to be.
And she's getting very pretty. Always a plus.
I really like this series, as well - even though for me, in terms of sheer talent, Ronan clearly has the upper hand. I've been completely mesmerized by her on screen - Nathaniel, I'm surprised that the fact she was in "I Could Never Be Your Woman" has not been mentioned so far, because she was the best thing about that movie ( sorry...). And she is turning into quite the beauty.
Oh I do miss "Fametracker" - such trashy fun, so this is great, even if I disagree with the conclusion. In fact, I'd say at the moment it's a "draw" between these two women. I hope they really do have great things ahead of them as their current trajectories imply, and long careers; and this moment isn't the height of things.
"Saoirse is still much younger "and already has a nomination."
Not sure if youth really is a factor, because your options are pretty limited at that age. Mia is only 21 herself and is starting to graduate into "adult" roles.
As for the nomination, that doesn't mean a whole lot if you can't follow up on it. Another young actress, Anna Kendrick, got a nom for "Up in the Air" and hasn't done anything noteworthy since.
Love them both and am excited to see how their careers pan out, but I have to pick Saoirse. I think she also already proved she can do anything—drama, action, comedy. And she's given the standout performance in nearly every movie she's been in (for me, her scenes in The Way Back helped that movie achieve an emotional resonance it sorely needed/lacked). I think she is a once-in-a-generation talent. But, Mia blew me away in Jane Eyre and has a lovely future ahead of her. We'll be hearing about these two for decades, I'm sure.
In that red carpet event, M.W. has an uncanny resemblance with Joan Allen. Now they want to reboot the Bourne franchise, maybe there's a part waiting for her. She could play Allen's estranged daughter who rebels against her mother by joining Renner in his getaway, running, escaping, jumping, and being sweaty in general.
I thought it was Shear-sha Ronan and Was-i-kow-ska? I'm so confused!!!
Did anyone like Mia in Alice? I was kinda shocked at how wooden and bland she was, imo anyways. Solid in TKAAR, still need to see Jane Eyre.
Mia ...by a LANDSLIDE!
I liked Mia in "Alice" well enough, but twenty minutes or so of the movie was all I could take. Tim Burton needs an exorcism.
Although I think Wasikowska's fine, I'm on team Ronan. Like Jay said, she's a once-in-a-generation talent. Amazing in Atonement, best thing about The Lovely Bones and she was really charming in I could never be your woman. She has yet to disappoint.
On the other hand, I thought Mia was excelent in The Kids are All Right so I have to agree with Jay once again: we'll be hearing about them for decades.
I'm surprised anybody wouldn't choose Ronan. She constantly proves herself in everything while Mia wasn't even that great in Alice in Wonderland.
Team Ronan. Her acting is so natural and she can do drama, comedy, action and fantasy. And she looks like Cate Blanchett as well. Ronan is gonna have an incredible career
Mia was really good in TKAAR and after watching some of her scenes in In Treatment, Im looking forward to see more of her
I've never really thought of them as competing before- Saoirse seems much younger to me. I don't know if I could choose between them. They've both succeeded in finding interesting roles which I'd imagine are few and far between for young women. I hope they continue to do so and don't end up as superhero love-interests or something.
And it's pronounced sear-sha, which is the Irish word for freedom (and her surname means seal!)
I just want to talk about their names. Can someone with a crazy first name become a household name? I think so. I"m trying to come up with some examples. Help me! I think a crazy last name is more difficult if your first name is not distinctive enough. Arnold S. and Renee Z. are helped by having names you can pronounce but don't hear too often. Ditto Mia.
You know, I think maybe it's a tie in the name category as well.
And though I think Mia is lovely, Ronan is almost mesmerizing. Those eyes are difficult to ignore.
Definitely Team Mia for me.
I have yet to be disappointed in ANY of her performances so far. (The worst thing I've seen Mia in so far was "Amelia," but even she couldn't save that horrid borefest.)
Alice in Wonderland was my favorite movie of last year because of her low-key performance that balanced out the off-the-wall craziness. I'd never even heard of her until I saw the movie, and she blew me away. I now want to see all of her films from here on out.
Ronan wasn't nearly as captivating in "Hanna" as Mia was in "Jane Eyre." Most importantly, Mia has already mastered the art of subtlety in acting, as her eyes can tell a thousand words even when she doesn't appear to be doing anything. That's not an easy thing to do.
I really enjoy watching both, and I'm excited to see where both careers go. But even though Wasikowska's upcoming projects sound more interesting, I think I find Ronan more impressive in terms of acting. Wasikowska is great in "Jane Eyre" and "The Kids Are All Right," but to me she came off as empty in "Eyesore in Wonderland" (stealing your appropriate nickname). Ronan, on the other hand, always seems to bring something different with her performances...for now (I'm not crazy about the idea that she's in two teenage assassin movies in one year).
Team Mia for me but it woulda been Team Saoirse prior to Jane Eyre. But damn. Jane Eyre.
Team Soirse, because she's more versatile, and she makes me wish that killing people should be cool.. My introduction to Mia was her affected performance as 'Alice.'
Team Both. I think it's silly to "pit" these two against each other. Both are exceptionally talented, not only for their ages, but in the acting world in general. Saoirse gave an unforgettable performance in "Atonement", that still leaves me speechless after all these years. Mia's performance in "In Treatment" is nothing short of spectacular. Both gave their co-stars a run of their money. I'd rather watch a movie with either fairly unknown girl, than be subjected to the popular money-making Hollywood garbage films of Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, or the like. I'd love to see Saoirse and Mia work together one day. : )
I think both are very talented. Age must be put into factor.
To dismiss Ronan's age when comparing roles isn't fair. There aren't a lot of quality roles for teenagers for the ages of 14-19. At that age, actors are in limbo since you can't play a preteen and most roles that are written for teenagers are paper thin/one dimensional. In the case of Ronan, what she's done so far is impressive. The Lovely Bones, a part in Peter Weir's The Way Back, and then the titular character for the art house film Hanna. She took a big chance with Hanna since that concept could've fallen face first, but it's succeeding so far in America and hopefully in Europe. She dropped out of The Hobbit (a small elf role) but was cast in The Host as the titular character.
Wasikowska's age is an advantage simply because she can claim the more adult roles. She came into notice when she was in her late teens, so if trends are right I can see Ronan also going the same route as Mia if those types of roles are present to her.
@ Sk8: I woldn't be surprised if Ronan was vying for that last spot in the 2009 Oscar race for Best Actress against Mirren, Blunt, and Cornish. It was a pleasant surprise that she was nominated for a BAFTA & a BFCA for Best Actress, so if pre-derby races say anything there's a good chance Ronan was in the 6-10 slot. And of course, failing to follow up another Oscar nom. when one is a teenager is not an apt. criticism due to what I said about few quality roles for teenagers. I think it was safe to say Ronan was pretty darn close with LB in 2009. Not bad for a film that was met with lukewarm reviews.
@ jbaker: Violet & Daisy is going to be a black comedy. The role of an assassin is just used as a mechanism to get the characters into certain situations. I’m still kind of upset that Carey Mulligan pulled out, and Bledel was brought in (no offense to Bledel). I just hope Bledel delivers.
If one sees the need to make these comparisons at all, a more fitting one might have been between Saoirse Ronan and Dakota Fanning - arguably the most gifted actresses of their generation and they are the same age. In terms of Violet & Daisy, I'm very curious. Fletcher is formally trained as a director and Ronan has never chosen an uninteresting role.
Guess what...both Mia and Saoirse will be starring in new vampire movies. Which one will be better? (Another reason to keep this discussion going.)
@ Dogg843
Both sound interesting. But Neil Jordan is directing the one Ronan was cast in with the screenwriter who wrote Jane Eyre (6 degrees of separation anyone?) who wants the tone to be similar to Let the Right One In. Mia's film has Swinton and Fassenbender so that also sounds promising.
I pick Jordan's vampire film because if it is anything like LTROI then I'm all in. This genre needs a serious makeover and such a tone can do it.
I like those hollywood female actor. They are such a brilliant actor. Mia and Saoirse wish very good luck both you. Thanks and keep up coming here.
Miami Limo Service
Saorise has proven herself more, emotes better facially and physically and is better at accents... Mia is a little over-rated now. Her publicist is pushing her too much. In Stoker, she's playing Nicole Kidman's daughter - in what universe do those two look alike?
Jane -- well, it wouldn't be the first time Hollywood has cast people who don't look anything alike as blood relatives. It'd be the 7 millionth time.
I would have to devote 50% of my time to each team. They're both wonderful. I have always thought that Mia and Saoirse came to "steal" a niche that Leelee Sobiesky was carving for herself.
NATHANIEL: I'll pick you up on your comment about Hollywood casting people who do not look anything like blood relatives to play... blood relatives! Why not comment on those instances of casting where they actually got it right?
I submit:
Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick as sisters (and Gena Rowlands as their mother) in Something to Talk About.