Daisy Ridley

FIFTY SHADES oF REY

It must have felt very different stepping onto the set of The Rise Of Skywalker compared to The Force Awakens?

I was marginally less nervous. When we start rolling, each time I’m like, “Fuck. What if I’ve forgotten how to do my job?” But I have relationships with most of the people I was working with. There’s a comfort in that.

Is there not a certain confidence that comes with stepping back into this character’s shoes?

No. Because it’s a different story for me – doing some stuff I had never done before. So it still feels new. People are like, “It’s like throwing on an old thing.” And I’m like, “No, it feels… different.”

In this movie, Rey deals with the light and the dark. That must have been fun to play?

Yeah, because you get to do all of the human emotions rather than just, “I am all baddie. I am all goodie.” With the dark Rey stuff – who knows what’s happening there. But that, in particular, was fun. Because even though I’m exploring the light and dark of Rey, there’s a different vibe, she still looks like Rey.

Was it strange seeing yourself in the dark garb?

I was like, “I look fucking cool. I look more Halloween-y. This would be fun to dress up like.”

can you tell someone like J.J., “I don’t think Rey would do or say that”?

Absolutely. J.J. has always been super-receptive. The first pitch he gave me for this, there was one thing that Rey did, and I was like, “There’s absolutely no way this is happening.” It wasn’t even a question. And it didn’t happen. Because he was like, “Yeah, that wasn’t a great idea.” It’s not that things change necessarily every time, but I then further my understanding of what is happening in that moment.

If you had to choose a line from a past Star Wars film that would be the key to Rey’s story going forward, what would it be?

Do you know what’s weird? I’m just getting that Maz line: “The belonging you seek is not behind you... it is ahead.” That one came to my mind.

How do you feel about saying farewell to Rey?

I feel amazingly spoiled that the first thing I did was such a great character. It’s not that she’s a “strong female character”. But you can understand where she’s coming from. You’re going through the journey with her. It also feels right to end here, because there’s no way you can carry on after this film. It’s an epic ending to the saga.