Early in November,Saoirse Ronan was having drinks in a London pub with Irish author Colm Toibin when suddenly they were both overcome with the urge to sing. After all, they had reason to celebrate: Brooklyn, the Fox Searchlight drama based on Toibin's 2009 novel and starring the 21-year-old Irish-A
oning his book, the conversation naturally turned to who might play the lead role of Eilis. Even at that point, Ronan, then 16, was on the shortlist. "I remember looking her up because Colm Toibin had mentioned her the day we had lunch," recalls Dwyer. "But she was still very much playing teenage roles."