Apparently, before Saoirse Ronan became the darling of moody period dramas and Dakota Fanning the queen of steely stares, Hollywood decided they couldn’t possibly coexist without a Thunderdome-style face-off.
In a recent interview with Elle, Saoirse, now 30 and still rocking her Little Women cred, spilled the tea about being endlessly compared to Dakota during their early careers. Think of it as Hollywood’s version of “Who Wore It Better?” except the “it” was precocious child acting talent.
“For a while, it was me and Dakota Fanning,” Saoirse said, undoubtedly channeling her inner gladiator. “We were the child stars people pitted against each other. It was like, ‘Only one tween can survive!’”
But plot twist: there’s zero drama here. None. Nada. Saoirse doesn’t have time for petty rivalries—she’s got a whole period-piece empire to run.
“I would love for Dakota and I to work together,” she gushed, with the enthusiasm of someone who’s genuinely over the whole Who’s the better child actor? narrative. “She’s actually one of the reasons I got into acting! I’d watch her stuff and be like, ‘Wow, she’s really killing it at being 10 years old.’”
Now that they’ve both outgrown awkward tween fame and the imaginary gladiatorial combat Hollywood dreamt up, Saoirse is all about that chill vibe.
“To feel like, ‘Oh, there’s space for all of us now,’ where there’s still healthy competition? I think it’s great,” she said, likely while sipping tea and daydreaming about a Saoirse-Dakota buddy comedy we all now desperately need.
Hollywood tried to stir the pot, but Saoirse and Dakota just went and shared the ladle instead. Can we get a movie with these two already? Hollywood, do your thing.
