Being the new kid on the block is always stressful, and the same can be said for the entertainment industry. Sitting in a room with a lot of talent and experience, as well as being the new generation to a long-standing franchise can be daunting. On that note, actress Daisy Ridley shared her story about the first read through for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it’s quite relatable.
Prior to the release of The Force Awakens, the first of the Star Wars movies in order from the Disney era, actress Daisy Ridley had only played a small handful of roles. So understandably, she was nervous walking into the first read where her costars were Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, among other big names. In an interview with Empire (via ScreenRant), Ridley told the story of her first read-through, which, in her words, was made worse because of the seating arrangement:
I remember I was so scared. I had to go for many wees," Ridley shares. "I literally had to keep going, 'I'm so sorry'; because I was so nervous. They sat me between Carrie [Fisher] and Harrison [Ford], and it was nerve-racking, but everyone was so lovely.
Ridley went on to talk about how she thought her first read wasn’t close to her best. She then shared that director J.J. Abrams brought her to the side after the reading to go through it personally with her. At the time, she thought they hated her, though seeing as we saw her reprise her role two more times, clearly that was wrong.
Daisy Ridley herself has mentioned that after the release of The Force Awakens, she was unable to sleep because of the backlash and comments about her role as Rey. For Star Wars fans, Rey being a liked character goes on a person-to-person basis, and it’s not just Ridley whose character is up for heavy scrutiny. Co-star John Boyega, who played Finn, has a history with fighting back against toxic and rude fans on social media. Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose, was so heavily bullied on social media, that she removed her accounts, and fans of Rose were disappointed to see she had little screen time in The Rise of Skywalker as a result.
While there are plenty of negative interactions Ridley has had since taking on Rey, she has also shared the good. As intimidating as it was, Ridley noted that everyone was kind, and that kindness is something that stuck with her. In the past Ridley had shared advice that Carrie Fisher gave her before her passing, and how that has helped her navigate her new fame.
Currently, Daisy Ridley is going to reprise her role as Rey in an upcoming Star Wars movie, though there’s some debate on how that will shake out. There are not many details about that new movie as of right now, so be sure to check in with us while we wait for more info. As for now, you can binge her trilogy with a Disney+ subscription.
