After five years in the spotlight as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Daisy Ridley is at the dawn of a new era of her career. The 28-year-old has certainly come out of her shell since we first met her on Jakku in Force Awakens and set to appear in a slew of different projects in the near future including Chaos Walking with Tom Holland this Spring and an upcoming Disney project.
Although it may feel like her career is just beginning, Daisy Ridley has already been the star of three of the most talked about films in the past decade, with Rise of Skywalker especially being the subject of ongoing debates a year later. Apparently as the actress has moved on to other roles, she has been told her presence is more daunting than she expected she’d be seen as. In her words:
I’ve been told that I’m intimidating. That was on Chaos Walking. I was having my hair done, having my wig put on. I remember thinking, ‘God, should I be smaller? Should I be quieter?’
The experience she’s talking about certainly isn’t one that only a Star Wars star deals with. Daisy Ridley is an upfront and spirited presence, which can especially come off as intimidating to others who are not as confident. The actress continued to Tatler Magazine with these words:
I’ve been called aggressive, too. My energy is ‘quite aggressive.’ That was during a meeting with a director. I was thinking: ‘But why? Is it because I maintained eye contact? Is it because I’m passionate about what we’re talking about?’ I dunno. You have that horrible sinking feeling of, ‘God, do I not come across the way I think I do?’
It’s a shame the actress was called out about being ‘intimidating’ and ‘aggressive’ when these character traits are not as inherently negative as they can be perceived as. Even so, this is certainly a conversation that is worth it for Daisy Ridley to speak out about. In professional environments, these phrases can be thrown around and as the Star Wars actress discussed, her first reaction was to perhaps make herself ‘smaller’ and ‘quieter’ in order to appease those giving her these descriptors.
Daisy Ridley’s honesty and genuinity is one of the reasons why I personally admire her. Earlier this year, the actress was candid about the different conversations that were thrown around about Rey’s bloodline, including admitting that there were real conversations around the granddaughter of Palpatine being related to Obi-Wan instead (as many theorized). Ridley also was candid about struggling to nab more acting jobs following her whirlwind time in a galaxy far, far away.
Her next role is in Chaos Walking, a movie she actually filmed back in 2017, but has reportedly dealt with some behind-the-scenes issues. The adaptation of the dystopian YA book The Knife of Never Letting Go hits theaters on March 5, 2021. Stay updated with what else Ridley is set to star in next here on CinemaBlend.
