SAOIRSE RONAN has denied reports linking her to a role in the up-coming Avengers sequel.
The Co Carlow teenager had been tipped to play the Scarlet Witch in The Avengers 2, which will see director Joss Whedon return to the helm following the multi-million pound success of the first film.
However, speaking in Galway at the weekend Ronan rubbished the link saying: “That’s not happening, no! I think that was just one of those little rumours floating about.”
The Byzantium and Atonement star was in the West of Ireland to receive a special Galway Hooker award at the closing ceremony of the Galway Film Fleadh.
Speaking to IFTN, she also paid tribute to Sopranos star James Gandolfini, who died last month at the age of 51.
Ronan had starred opposite Gandolifini in the 2011 action/comedy film, Violet & Daisy and the actress described the US star as “amazing - one of my favourite people to work with.”
She added: “He came in about three weeks into the shoot and kind of became the father of the set in a way. He really took care of all of us - especially me.
“I was about 15 at the time and he really took me under his wing and was a great teacher as well in the way he handles himself on set. He was so professional.
“It’s awful what’s happened. I think the most heartbreaking thing as well is that since The Sopranos he’s had to really make his mark in the film world and he had really started to do that.
“We have the same agent and I think about the stuff he was going to do in the future. And he’d been doing theatre too. He was just one of the best actors to ever come out of America, I think. So it’s really heartbreaking that, at the peak of his career, it happened.”