The Audacity of the Absurd: Inside Saoirse Ronan’s Comedic Turn in ‘Bad Apples’

Editor’s note: This interview was originally conducted on September 5, 2025, during the Toronto International Film Festival. Republic Pictures will release the film in U.S. and UK theaters on Friday, September 18.

For four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, the appeal of a project like director Jonatan Etzler’s English-language debut, Bad Apples, was visceral, even if it was difficult to articulate. "There’s kind of nothing out there like it," the actress told IndieWire during the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In an industry often dominated by sequels, safe bets, and sanitized narratives, Bad Apples stands as a jarring, pitch-black anomaly. Based on Rasmus Andersson’s 2020 novel De Önskade, the film follows a beleaguered primary school teacher, Maria, who finds herself pushed to the brink by a foul-mouthed, violent student. Her solution? A kidnapping that turns a mundane classroom drama into an exercise in moral absurdity.

The Genesis of an Unlikely Casting

The decision to cast Ronan—an actress known for the gravitas of Lady Bird, Brooklyn, and The Outrun—in a dark comedy might have seemed unconventional to some, but to director Jonatan Etzler, it was a necessity. Etzler, a Swedish filmmaker making his transition to English-language features, found his inspiration for Maria not in Ronan’s dramatic filmography, but in her 2017 guest-hosting stint on Saturday Night Live.

"I, of course, watched all the great films that she’s done, but then I saw this SNL skit where she was a flight attendant," Etzler recalled. "I just saw Maria there, because she’s this person of authority, but she’s also really funny doing this character. That SNL skit was part of the reason why she was my top choice. I’m really happy that people are going to see her great comedic talent."

The sentiment was echoed by producer Oskar Pimlott, who noted that the production team didn’t need to look beyond their first choice. "There were so many reasons why she was at the top of our list, but I think one of them was that we hadn’t seen her do this character before—a kind of ‘good person doing bad things’ role," Pimlott said. "You can’t help but empathize with Saoirse Ronan; there’s not a single person out there that doesn’t like her."

A Chronicle of Chaos: From Page to Screen

The path to Bad Apples began with Rasmus Andersson’s novel. Etzler, who previously worked as a teacher, was immediately drawn to the story’s central theme: the terrifying, quiet loss of control that occurs when a professional educator faces an environment they can no longer manage.

When the team sought a screenwriter to translate the Swedish sensibilities of the source material for a British context, they found Jess O’Kane, who—serendipitously—also had a background in education. This shared history helped anchor the film’s increasingly bizarre trajectory in a recognizable, grounded reality.

"I’d never read anything quite like that," Ronan said of the script. "I’d never gotten the chance to play a character that would allow me to find myself in such insane situations, and it was still so hilariously funny. It was sort of a marriage between Jess’s brilliant, dark comic writing, my taste in comedy, and Jonatan’s style. The three things really seemed to go hand in hand."

The production, which officially brought Ronan on board in October 2023, faced the unique challenge of balancing the film’s "zany" nature with the grim reality of the plot. As Etzler explained, the key was the buildup. "One of the most important things was making the very core of the film very believable so that we really follow Saoirse’s character all along. When you have that, you can start surrounding it with increasingly more absurd layers."

The Classroom Crucible: Working with Young Talent

Casting the film’s young students, particularly the antagonist Danny, was perhaps the production’s most daunting hurdle. To ensure the classroom dynamics felt authentic, the team brought in iconic casting director Fiona Weir, known for her work on the Harry Potter franchise.

"We found really brilliant kids for the whole classroom—a real mix of kids from different backgrounds," Pimlott said. "I remember when we threw Jonatan, Saoirse, and the cinematographer into the room for the first rehearsal, they came out looking a bit bedraggled, like, ‘Oh, my God, how are we going to do this?’"

For Ronan, the experience was a masterclass in adaptation. "I was terrified," she admitted. "They’re at that age where they’re not cute little five-year-olds, and they’re not teenagers where you can put on the bravado. They’re right in the middle, where they’re going to be super honest with you. They don’t care who you are. They probably haven’t seen any of your films."

The search for Danny, however, was a monumental task, involving over 2,000 auditions. Eventually, they discovered Eddie Waller in the north of England. "We needed a specific kid who has this sort of anger underneath his skin, and we can believe he’s uncontrollable," Etzler noted.

Philosophical Implications: A Dark Mirror to Society

At its heart, Bad Apples is a film about societal failure. By placing a teacher in a situation where she must decide between professional ethics and personal survival, the film asks uncomfortable questions about how we treat those who do not fit into the rigid "square boxes" of modern life.

"I think it’s philosophical without it being too didactic," Ronan observed. "I think it’s shining a light on the uglier side of human nature, while also still making us laugh. I’ve always thought the hardest genre is comedy, and to get that right is no small feat."

Etzler agrees, suggesting that the film’s humor acts as a defense mechanism for the audience. "I think people are going to be laughing, but they’re also going to be looking at themselves and asking, ‘In what way am I complicit in the suffering of others?’"

The Path Forward: Protecting the Craft

For Ronan, Bad Apples represents a conscious effort to keep her relationship with acting fresh and "childlike." Having spent over two decades in the spotlight, she is keenly aware of the need to maintain her enthusiasm by choosing projects that challenge her and push boundaries.

"I’ve been doing it now for over 20 years, and there’s a fork in the road where I need to protect my relationship with my work so that it doesn’t get stale," Ronan said. "I need to be having fun. That’s not to say that every day I’m on set I’m a ‘laugh a minute,’ but I enjoy what I do. I also need breaks from what I do."

Her husband, actor Jack Lowden, who produced her recent work, noted that Ronan possesses a rare, effortless quality in her craft. "It’s not something that she struggles with," Lowden said. "She does things that most people can’t do, but she makes it look like it’s just making toast."

As Bad Apples enters its theatrical run, the film serves as a testament to Ronan’s range and her willingness to inhabit the darker, more contradictory aspects of the human experience. Whether the audience leaves the theater laughing, crying, or simply shocked, one thing is certain: they will be talking.

“Bad Apples” premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and arrives in theaters on September 18.