Saoirse Ronan has recalled a time in which her mother protected her on a film set.

The Irish actress rose to prominence after playing a precocious teenager in 2007 movie Atonement and has since won acclaim for her performances in films such as The Lovely Bones, Brooklyn and Lady Bird. In light of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements sweeping Hollywood, Saoirse has now shared in an interview with U.S. Vogue that she has never been exploited, though she once had a particularly uncomfortable experience while filming a scene during her teenage years.

“My mam walked onto the set,” she told the publication of a time when her mother Monica pushed back at a director who was helming a particularly “sensitive” moment. “She said, ‘You’re not doing that again unless we map out exactly when this is going to stop.’ I was very lucky that I had a proper protector with me.”

During the interview, Saoirse spoke about how she found it difficult when she started working on her own and her mother was no longer on set as a “safety blanket”. She also described how she can’t help but fully absorb herself into whatever project she is working on.

“When I’m working, I can’t really do anything else,” the 24-year-old said. “I can’t go out, I can’t meet up with anyone, I don’t read anything. Someone said to me, ‘You’re monogamous when it comes to your work,’ and it’s so true. You can only commit to one thing at a time.”

At present, Saoirse is gearing up to begin promoting historical drama Mary Queen of Scots, in which she portrays the Scottish queen while Margot Robbie takes on the part of Queen Elizabeth I. She is in the pre-production phase of a new adaptation of Little Women too but is adamant that she is open to appearing in a more modern film in the future and would even consider playing a superhero.

“If a script came along that was strong, interesting, original, I would take it. A good script is a good script,” she smiled.