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Saoirse Ronan’s best movies have shown her playing women who aren’t afraid to speak their minds like in Brooklyn, Lady Bird and her latest film, Blitz. The Irish actress isn’t too far away from that forthright personality herself. The Academy Award nominee recently made comments about women’s safety, which went viral. Now, Gladiator II trainer Paul Biddiss is sharing some keen thoughts of his own about that.
While appearing on The Graham Norton Show, Saoirse Ronan was sitting on the program’s sofa alongside Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Eddie Redmayne. When Redmayne shared his experience of working on the streamable action series The Day of the Jackal, he said he learned from military trainer/co-ordinator Paul Biddiss about using a phone as a weapon. When the other actors around him laughed about the idea of having to take out their phones for defense, Ronan interrupted them and said, “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?” She was met with thunderous applause after that.
Over the next 24 hours, the Lady Bird star’s comments garnered considerable attention. Amid that, a findings from a YouGov survey showed that women in the UK wanted men to know that they need a “greater awareness and understanding” of women’s safety. After the Golden Globe winner’s comments hit across airwaves and social media, Gladiator II trainer and Parachute Regiment veteran Paul Biddiss spoke to The Guardian, during which he agreed with the actress’ viewpoint:
Saoirse was absolutely right. It was a bit of a shock to suddenly be at the centre of such an important moment. Paul and Eddie were just enjoying a bit of banter about whether anyone would ever think to use their mobile phone as a weapon, as I’d suggested. But, as Saoirse then said, phones, along with everything else inside a handbag, are always on the mind of a woman who is walking alone. All these items can be used, and particularly a mobile phone, which is carried in the hand a lot.
The veteran trainer has been a military advisor on a number of films that involve extras to portray military forces from different eras like the Ridley Scott‘s Napoleon and HBO’s House of the Dragon. He was faced with a true challenged when teaming up with Scott again for his long-awaited Gladiator II.
Paul Biddiss and Saoirse Ronan are correct in that a phone can indeed be a weapon against threats in pretending to have a phone call if you think you’re being followed. That way, a potential threat has a greater chance of steering clear if they feel the person they’re following is actively connected to someone else. As Biddiss said, a phone can help someone gain enough time to get away from a follower and use the screen as a mirror to watch who’s behind you.
The coordinator wasn’t the only person to agree with the Outrun star’s assessment either. Paul Mescal, who worked with Ronan in Foe, told RTE’s The Late Late Show that he felt that his former co-star’s comments were “spot on” and “hit the nail on the head.” The star also said he was pleased that the viral moment happened on The Graham Norton Show so that more thought-provoking conversations could take place like that one.
All in all, Paul Biddiss seemed to be grateful that the Atonement brought light to how important it is for women to have their phones on them when walking alone in the streets. Biddiss emphasized how important it was that he trained actress Lashana Lynch on surveillance for The Day of the Jackal the same way that WWII “top performing” female agents were trained since women were less susceptible to being followed back then. It looks like the British trainer’s skills can be a real eye-opener on self-defense strategies that can be of great use to anyone.
You can watch Paul Biddiss’ practices in action by streaming Eddie The Day of the Jackal using a Peacock subscription and by checking out Gladiator II when it opens on November 22 as part of the 2024 movie release. And Apple TV+ subscription holders can check out Saoirse Ronan’s work in Blitz when the film hits the streaming platform on November 22.