Saoirse Ronan Reveals She Auditioned for Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter: ‘I Knew I Wasn’t Gonna Get It’

Saoirse Ronan was almost enrolled at Hogwarts.

While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Thursday, Oct. 3, the four-time Oscar nominee, 30, was asked if there were any past roles she regretted not being able to play.

“There’s things that you’ll pass on and then they come out and you think, ‘Oh, God, that was a misstep on my part,” said Ronan.

“But I think the one that stayed with me over the years was — I didn’t say no to it, I just didn’t get the part. I lost, again; it’s a running theme for me.”

“But I had gone up for Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter years ago,” said Ronan, who has two movies out soon: The Outrun and Blitz. “Because it was like the Irish character, so they got everyone Irish in, like half Ireland come and audition.”

Ronan recalled that she “knew I wasn’t gonna get it because I was too young, but I got to read out a scene that was gonna be in Harry Potter, and it was the coolest thing ever.”

The character of Luna Lovegood is introduced in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which debuted in theaters in 2007 with then-newcomer Evanna Lynch in the role. That was the same year Ronan’s film Atonement came out, earning her her first Oscar nomination at age 13.

Ronan did go on to star in some Harry Potter-adjacent young-adult book-to-screen adaptations, like City of Ember, The Lovely Bones and Stephenie Meyer’s The Host.

HBO’s reboot series adaptation of the Harry Potter franchise is currently casting, putting out an open call for kids between the ages of 9 and 11 and resident of the U.K. or Ireland for the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. (In the films, they were played by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.)

The casting call added, “We are committed to inclusive, diverse casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated.”