Daisy Ridley awe-ridden at ‘Star Wars’ role

Actor says she shed tears after watching ‘The Force Awakens’ ahead of its premiere

LOS ANGELES: When the anticipated Star Wars film opens next week, little-known British actor Daisy Ridley will undoubtedly become one of the most recognised faces in the world.

The 23-year-old plays scavenger Rey in The Force Awakens, a central character in the sci-fi movie. The reality of getting such a coveted role has not yet sunk in for Ridley, whose past credits include a few television series appearances. “It’s not something I pictured ever so it’s a very odd thing, very odd,” Ridley said.

“When I first got cast, no one could know, so it’s three months of me going ‘Alright, I can deal with this, this is me’,” she said. “And then everyone else knew, and it was like ‘Okay, there’s a few more people to deal with now’.”



Ridley added, “I started auditioning two years ago ... and it took seven months and five auditions and then I was cast.” She went on to say, “I think they were just seeing many, many girls because obviously, if they weren’t, then I would never have been seen.”

Details have been kept secret ahead of the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Monday except for a few outlines about the characters. “It’s incredibly funny but touching and the story obviously is character-led, so there’s all of the fun stuff,” she said. “And then there’s just a wonderful human story at the centre of it.”



Ridley is one of the few people who saw the film ahead of its premiere. She said her reaction after seeing it was unexpected. “I pretended that I was fine for about an hour and then got in the car and wept the whole way to the airport — many, many tears,” she said.

The Force Awakens, the first Star Wars film in 10 years, also stars the saga’s old hands Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill as well as newcomers John Boyega and Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2015.

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