Saoirse Ronan reveals she used to be pitted against Dakota Fanning

Saoirse Ronan opened up about her early years in Hollywood, revealing that she was often pitted against other young actors and up-and-coming stars. One of them, she said, was Dakota Fanning. The four-time Oscar nominee opened up about being compared to other young stars early in her career during her recent feature for Elle, published on Thursday, November 14. She said:

"For a while, it was me and Dakota Fanning."

That said, Ronan mentioned that she would love for them to share the screen and work together on a project. She also credits Fanning for getting her into acting, saying:

"She's one of the reasons why I got into acting in the first place, because when I was really young, she was working from such an early age, and I used to watch her stuff."

Saoirse Ronan claimed that she is not bothered by "healthy competition" and said:

"To feel like, 'Oh, there's space for all of us now,' where there's still healthy competition, I think it's great."

While the two actors haven't worked together yet, their projects have overlapped. Dakota Fanning reportedly stepped in to replace Saoirse Ronan when she couldn't film movies due to scheduling conflicts. The first one was the 2014 British biological film Effie Gray, then Camilla Gibb's novel's movie adaptation Sweetness in the Belly in 2019.

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Saoirse Ronan shares how her generation is changing Hollywood culture

Saoirse Ronan is currently getting more Oscar buzz for her two new movies, The Outrun and Blitz. She produced The Outrun with her husband, Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden. In The Outrun she also portrays a recovering alcoholic. Meanwhile, in the Steve McQueen-directed WW2 drama Blitz, Ronan stars as a single mother who got separated from her son during a German attack.

Speaking with Elle, Saoirse Ronan talked about what her generation's contribution is when it comes to changing the culture in Hollywood. She said:

"I'm seeing from the inside how over the young generation are [when it comes to] some older studio execs and producers and directors who are just narcissists and control freaks."

The Little Women star added:

"We don't want to work in that way anymore."

Saoirse Ronan also credited the strike for changing how people in the industry see show business as a whole. She also mentioned that artists realizing that there's space for everyone in Hollywood has also helped:

"I think the strike had a massive effect on how we view the industry. That, paired with people knowing their worth a little bit more, or feeling like there's an environment now where they can band together, and they don't need to be against one another."

The Oscar-nominated star also spoke to Elle about keeping her life private, saying that she likes that "people don't know her business." She also noted how the presence of social media affects the "slightly younger generation" of Hollywood stars. Ronan pointed out that she can see how up-and-coming stars feel the pressure of having a social media presence.

While she admitted that she was lucky that it wasn't the norm when she was starting, she also felt the brunt of not having a social media presence. Saoirse Ronan admitted that she missed out on some roles because she didn't have "enough Twitter followers or whatever." That said, the actress is standing by her decision to keep her life private, saying that she wouldn't want to share her personal life with people she doesn't know.