‘Blitz’: Saoirse Ronan on Training to Sing Onscreen and Performing ‘Winter Coat’ in Front of 300 Extras

variety.com:

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Yes, that is Saoirse Ronan singing in Steve McQueen’s “Blitz.” In the World War II drama, now streaming on AppleTV+, Ronan plays a young mother, Rita, searching for her young son who has been sent away and gone missing.

In one scene, Rita who works at a bomb-making factory, gets up to sing a wartime tune “Winter Coat” in front of her co-workers.

Ronan is tipped to be in the running for best supporting actress, but landing the role was not that simple. The song was always in the script.

Ronan says, “There was never a question of not being able to sing if he gave me the role.” McQueen and Ronan met over Zoom, but it wasn’t until the actress had a singing lesson and vocal coaching that she landed the role. “He gave me the role once she (Fiona McDougal, Ronan’s vocal coach) reported back to him and said that I wasn’t tone deaf.” “Winter Coat” was written by Nicholas Britell, Taura Stinson and McQueen.