Daisy Ridley
“The movie is a reminder of the connection that we’re trying to regain.”
Daisy Ridley spent much of her 20s on film sets, fighting Siths as Rey in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy and ironing out her alibi in Kenneth Branagh’s whodunit “Murder on the Orient Express.”
So the actor delighted in experiencing the mundanity of office life in “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” which debuts in theaters Jan. 26. She plays Fran, a lonely clerical worker whose morbid daydreams are more comforting than the world around her.
“I’m quite lucky to work on films in different countries. My job is pretty fucking cool,” she says. “So I did enjoy being in an office for a moment.”
• Your character doesn’t have much dialogue. Was that challenging? I’ve never played anyone who talks loads. So, strangely, it wasn’t even a consideration of mine. One big change from the script was there was voiceover the whole way through. When the filmmakers got to the edit, they were like, “We didn’t need the voiceover.” As the script was written, I knew what Fran was thinking the whole time.
• How did you capture Fran’s personality? She created a rich inner life because it’s more comfortable than engaging in a social life. She finds it hard to fit in, but sometimes she’s like, “I don’t want to be part of this.” By the last shot of the film, she has done the scariest thing she could imagine: telling someone her actual thoughts and being vulnerable; making a true connection with another human.
• Do you think this movie resonates differently in a POSTCOVID world? We all feel far away from that time, but it doesn’t take much to remember how difficult it was. COVID or not, we know what it is to feel alone and lonely ... to be with a group of people and still feel on the outside. Or to be alone and be comforted because of something you are reading or watching. The movie is a reminder of the connection that we’re trying to regain.
• I found the office setting to be depressing. Did you feel sorry that Fran had to work in that environment? That is so funny. I didn’t find it dreary at all. I’ve never worked in an office. I was like, “People talk about watercooler moments. This is the watercooler.” I found the office to be lovely, warm and cozy.
• What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? I really liked working in pubs, but my worst day was during Notting Hill Carnival, which is the biggest street carnival in the U.K. I don’t know how many bouts of vomit I had to clear up. I had no protective equipment, no gloves, nothing. I remember full-blown gagging.
• You’re reprising your role as Rey in a new “Star Wars” movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-chinoy. How will the franchise’s first female filmmaker impact the series? The short answer is I don’t know. I’m excited to do the job, but not because Sharmeen is a woman. Her documentaries are amazing. Her idea for the story is cool as shit. No spoilers, but she gave me a rundown of the entire story. If it weren’t amazing, I would have been like, “OK, call me in five years.” But it’s worthwhile.
• How do you like to spend downtime in between projects? Reading, going to the cinema and cooking my own food. I was living in a hotel before Christmas, and when I got back, I was like, “I can cut an onion. I can cut garlic!”