Daisy Ridley covers the latest issue of Net-a-Porter’s Porter magazine, and the “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” star reflects on the wild ride she’s been on ever since being cast as the first female lead in one of Hollywood’s biggest film franchises at age 21.
“Being in your early 20s is a crazy f**king thing anyway. You’re trying to figure out: ‘What do I like? What don’t I like?’” she explains, noting that she’s well aware that the odds of being cast in a “Star Wars” movie are akin to those of winning the lottery.
“I’m not blind to the fact that if I’d auditioned on a different day, or worn something else…” she says. “I did my hair in French plaits for the first audition, and I remember Nina [Gold, the casting director] saying: ‘Imagine if you hadn’t worn the French braids. What would have happened?’ I can’t help but think what a strange thing this has been.”
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After six years in the franchise, Ridley admits she’s still trying to process it all. “Ninety per cent of the time, I’m so grateful,” she says. “The other 10 per cent, I’m like [fake crying], ‘This is so scary!’
“People don’t believe me when I say this but I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I knew this was a film that was going to be watched by so many people but I was more concerned with how long it would take to make, how long I would be in that world. I didn’t know about press tours. I was like, ‘Why are we going to Germany? Or China?’ And then it became more like, ‘Oh God. Are you OK? Are they taking care of you?’”
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Instant stardom, she explains, took some getting used to.
“I remember coming out of the toilet at the first premiere and people were staring at me. It was really strange. I couldn’t figure out why they were looking,” she says. “I always find the sudden intrusion difficult to navigate. But I am getting better at it.”
You can read more with Daisy Ridley in the latest edition of Porter magazine.
