Saoirse Ronan Lost Out On A Major Harry Potter Role

It's difficult to picture anyone other than Evanna Lynch playing the quirky-yet-brave Luna Lovegood from the last four "Harry Potter" movies — "Order of the Phoenix," "Half-Blood Prince," "Deathly Hallows: Part 1," and "Deathly Hallows: Part II" — but there could've been a world where Saoirse Ronan played the Ravenclaw Hogwarts student. She was one of the actors who almost got a "Harry Potter" role.

After joking about losing every Oscar nomination she's had, Ronan shared her untold truth during a 2024 interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that she lost yet another thing: a role in the "Harry Potter" universe (via YouTube). Hilariously, the studio audience groaned on Ronan's behalf that she didn't get that part. "It was like the Irish character," Ronan, who was raised in Ireland, revealed. "So they got everyone Irish in, like half of Ireland to come and audition," she quipped.

Ronan admitted she wasn't expecting to get the part because of how young she was at the time. The "Foe" actor was still thrilled to be able to read a scene from the movie. In an interview with The Independent back in 2011, Ronan admitted, "When I was younger, I used to think [the 'Harry Potter' cast] had the best job in the world." Of course, Ronan went on to have a fantastic career in Hollywood, and, like the actress who actually got the coveted role of Luna, has been super busy since those "Harry Potter" days.

Unlike "Harry Potter," Saoirse Ronan was slated to be part of another franchise before that petered out. Speaking with Variety, Ronan confirmed that she was supposed to be in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" film, along with Timothée Chalamet. Both actors have worked together with Gerwig on "Lady Bird" and "Little Women." While Ronan wasn't sure what role Chalamet would've been, she did know who she was supposed to be: a Weird Barbie.

"I don't know how to take that," Ronan joked, adding, "I would have been with Kate McKinnon [who played Weird Barbie in the film], so that would have been nice. I had a scene but didn't ever get to do it, and it wasn't in the movie." Ronan couldn't remember all of the scene but did recall it had to do with her character talking to her dog and never making eye contact with other people.

Earlier in that same "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" interview, Ronan reiterated the story and shared that the reason "Barbie" ended up not happening with her was because of scheduling conflicts. She was filming "The Outrun" at the time.