by Nathaniel R
No offense intended to the actual president of Saoirse Ronan's fan club (do fan clubs still exist?) but Brian Dennehy, who has been onscreen for my entire moviegoing life, is taking over. He just loves her. Since we love it when actors express non-generic a publicist could have written this admiration for other actors, we must share.
Dennehy was interviewed for The AV Club's fun series "Random Roles" in which they ask famous actors about specific roles in their careers without revealing beforehand which roles they'll be discussing. For Dennehy, it's an eclectic mix including Death of a Salesman (for which he won a Golden Globe), Rambo, Romeo + Juliet, Tommy Boy, She Hate Me, and more. When they get to The Seagull (2018), Dennehy just goes off on his admiration for three-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan.
He says...
She’s mind-boggling. I mean, you stand there, and you’re in a scene with her, and you better pay attention because your mouth is going to be standing there hanging open. You forget your lines because she’s so extraordinary. She’s really been smart, and the people around her have been very smart about her career. She comes out and she makes a picture, it comes out, there’s this huge critical reception to what she does and awards and all this other stuff, and the picture usually does very well, but then boom—she disappears. She gets out of the way.
She never has to worry about the kind of material she’s going to be given. She never has to worry about how her career is going, because she’s astounding. Astounding. And also terrific to be around, fun. She’s a nice girl. She’s respectful and friendly. She’s not one of these people who is just, “I can’t stand the atmosphere. I’ve got to go to the place and be by myself. I’ll be ready when I’m ready.” She doesn’t do any of that shit. She’s normal and natural and sweet. And then, all of the sudden, she gets in front of a camera and—bing!—she blows the fuckin’ wheels off.
She’s the only actor—male, female, grown-up, adult—the only one, by a mile, who just dazzles you. The simplicity. Her simplicity. The fact that she always plays against the grain of the scene. I mean, she can be very big. She can be very dramatic and very funny, but whatever she does—whatever she fuckin’ does—surprises you.
She’s just an incredible talent. She’s the greatest acting talent I’ve ever worked with, and I have worked with everybody. I’ve worked with great actors. And she’s a great actor, but there’s something else there. There’s something else going on with her. I don’t know what it is, but she’s got these eyes that look like they’re 10,000 years old and have seen everything. That’s does not mean that she looks old; I don’t mean that. I mean she understands things, and her talent is such that she can take the scene, take the words, take the environment, the other actors, take the furniture, and make it all into one seamless reality that is profound. There’s a deep, profound reality coming out of her eyes. As far as I’m concerned, there’s her, and then there’s other people. She’s in a class by herself, literally.
This is making me feel so guilty that I haven't seen On Chesil Beach or The Seagull yet and with Mary Queen of Scots right around the corner, I'm going to be three movies behind soon! Apologies Saoirse. I love you, too! It's not just Dennehy.