Steve McQueen, director of this year’s World War II drama Blitz, talked about his experience casting Saoirse Ronan in a recent interview with Variety. In the interview, he revealed that Ronan herself expressed interest in the role.

The 4-time Academy Award nominee seemed like a perfect choice, but the role she was to play required singing. To fix this issue, Ronan started working with a singing coach to hone her voice. She was confident in her abilities, and McQueen was convinced when her coach sent him a positive report. He recalled, “I never forget the phone call I got back from the singing coach after a few sessions. Not only can she sing like a bird, it will only get better.”

In the film, Saoirse Ronan plays Rita, a mother who works at a bomb-making factory in London during World War II. She has multiple songs in the film, with the most notable being “Winter Coat”. McQueen said that he was inspired by his father to include that song.  “I got left his winter coat and I remember when he died, I put it on because you want to be close to him, to smell things. I wanted to be engulfed by him because he wasn’t present.”

Steve McQueen, who famously directed 12 Years A Slave, directed and released Blitz in theaters earlier this year. The film was distributed by Apple TV and is now streaming on Apple TV+.