Saoirse Ronan's Harry Potter audition

Saoirse Ronan auditioned to play Luna Lovegood in the 'Harry Potter' franchise.

The 30-year-old actress revealed she lost out on the role of the young witch to Evanna Lynch and admitted it has "stayed with me over the years".

Speaking to chat show host Jimmy Kimmel, Saoirse said: "There’s things that you’ll pass on and then they come out and you think, ‘Oh, God, that was a misstep on my part,'. But I think the one that stayed with me over the years was — I didn’t say no to it, I just didn’t get the part. I lost, again; it’s a running theme for me.

"But I had gone up for Luna Lovegood in 'Harry Potter' years ago. Because it was like the Irish character, so they got everyone Irish in, like half of Ireland come and audition."

Saoirse revealed she knew she wouldn’t get the part “because I was too young, but I got to read out a scene that was gonna be in 'Harry Potter', and it was the coolest thing ever".

Evanna made her debut in 2007's 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', which was the same year Saoirse's 'Atonement', for which she received her first Oscar nomination, was released.

Meanwhile, Saoirse - who has produced new movie 'The Outrun' - revealed she would love to direct and has been taking advice from frequent collaborator Greta Gerwig.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "That was always a passion of mine, and it was actually Greta who said that you need to delve into the prep first to see if that’s something that piques your interest because that’s where the really hard work lies. [Producing] was an education in that, all the sort of tough decisions that you’ve got to make early on, and it just made me feel more confident as well as a storyteller being involved that early in the project.”