Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden celebrate good news after viral Graham Norton appearance

Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden
Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden at the Scottish premiere of Mary Queen of Scots (Getty)

Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden are riding high after their film The Outrun received an impressive nine nominations at the British Independent Film Awards.

The exciting news comes just days after the actress' unforgettable appearance on The Graham Norton Show, which quickly became a viral moment after her direct comment on the issue of self-defence.

Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden
Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden have reason to celebrate (Shutterstock)

Based on Amy Liptrot's best-selling novel of self-discovery and sobriety in the wilds of Orkney, The Outrun garnered nine nominations, including Best British Independent Film and Best Director sponsored by Sky Cinema for Nora Fingsheidt.

You may also like

Saoirse, who won Best Actress in 2015 for her role in Brooklyn, has been nominated for Best Lead Performance, facing competition from the likes of Alicia Vikander, Elliot Page and Radhika Apte.

Other nominations included Best Screenplay sponsored by Apple Original Films for Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot, Best Cinematography sponsored by Kodak & Molinare, Best Editing, Best Make-Up & Hair Design, Best Original Music sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group and Best Sound.

Saoirse, 30, and Jack, 34, tied the knot this summer after six years together. They met during the filming of 2018's Mary Queen of Scots, and they went on to spend the past couple of years on The Outrun. 

After news of the nominations came out, Jack wrote on his Instagram page: "Over the [moon] for the whole team. The Outrun making [waves]."

In the independent film, Saoirse takes on the role of Rona, a woman grappling with her past as she returns to her native Scottish island after years away. The project is also generating early Oscar buzz for the four-time Oscar-nominated Irish actress and has become a significant shared passion.

"We have the Outrun out as well, which is a movie that we produced together," Saoirse recently said on the Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio UK. "That's kind of our baby right now. So we're putting a lot of time and our energy into that and we're incredibly proud and excited about the reception is has gotten.

"It's still in the cinemas now as well for anyone who wants to go and see it. Again, I would really urge anyone to take the time out to go and see it in the cinema. And yeah, we're doing great – he's doing the washing right now."

Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden in Mary Queen of Scots
The pair met on the set of Mary Queen of Scots (Alamy)

On working with her husband on Outrun, Saoirse also told USA Today: "Jack is a lot calmer than I am. He's my voice of reason. But as a duo, we've both been on film sets our whole lives, so we have an appreciation of what we're asking actors to do. We always want them to feel safe."

Meanwhile, Jack recently opened up to The Guardian about working with his wife. "I read The Outrun in lockdown and just turned to Sersh and said, 'You've got to play this part,'" he said.

"We were both producers, as well as Sersh being in it. It was the most amazing experience – in particular, to watch her in that role. She's utterly phenomenal. But then the madness of making an independent film is just… great fun and terrifying."