Saoirse Ronan Is 'Gutted' She Couldn't Be in Greta Gerwig's Barbie Due to Schedule Conflict

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Saoirse Ronan is not a Barbie girl.

The 28-year-old actress reveals in the new issue of PEOPLE that she had intended to appear in the buzzed-about movie helmed by Greta Gerwig, who directed her in 2017's Lady Bird and 2019's Little Women. Ronan's Mary Queen of Scots costar Margot Robbie headlines as the titular doll.

"I was supposed to do a cameo because I live in London and they were [filming] there," Ronan tells PEOPLE. However, due to her schedule filming The Outrun, an upcoming drama about a recovering alcoholic that she's been filming in Scotland, the plan didn't pan out.

"There was a whole character I was going to play — another Barbie," Ronan reveals. "I was gutted I couldn't do it."

She's still holding out hope for some kind of appearance in the movie, which is due to hit theaters July 21, 2023. "I have texted Margot and Greta and I'm like, 'If you're doing any pick-up [shots], maybe I can just walk through the background?' " Ronan continues.

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The four-time Oscar nominee, known for costume dramas including Mary Queen of Scots and cool indie fare like Lady Bird, is now starring in the slapstick whodunit See How They Run.

In the comedy, Ronan plays Constable Stalker, a 1950s London police officer who's teamed with a seasoned sleuth (Sam Rockwell) to solve the murder of a Hollywood director (Adrien Brody) in London's West End.

The role is a departure for her, which is exactly what she wanted.

"During [COVID] lockdown, I was being sent a ton of [scripts]. We were all just living in a time that was so sort of doom and gloom," she says. "It just felt like that's what I needed as a person to have a little bit of respite from all of the seriousness."

See How They Run is in theaters Sept. 23.