Daisy Ridley Had to Overcome Fears to Play Rey in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Daisy Ridley isn’t quite as brave as Rey, the character she plays in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In fact, she had to overcome some fears in order to play the role. Rey is a pilot and a scaveng...
Daisy Ridley Had to Overcome Fears to Play Rey in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
Written by Kimberly Ripley
  • Daisy Ridley isn’t quite as brave as Rey, the character she plays in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In fact, she had to overcome some fears in order to play the role.

    Rey is a pilot and a scavenger in the latest Star Wars installment, and she’s the first person Daisy Ridley has portrayed on the big screen. The 23-year-old talked about the fears that initially stood in her way when she was cast in the film.

    “It’s one thing for other people to see potential in you, and it’s quite another for you to understand that and see it in yourself,” Daisy Ridley told the Associated Press. “So of course everyone else being wonderful helps, but there’s a certain level of growth and stuff you have to do as a person. It’s just like life times a million.”

    Ridley underwent months of physical training to prepare to play Rey. Her regimen included weight lifting, climbing, and even staff training–running and fighting with a staff.

    “I had to look like I could look after myself in the desert and dragging and scavenging things across sand,” she said.

    JJ Abrams helps alleviate some of Daisy Ridley’s fears.

    “Luckily, to have J.J. there, who is so kind and considerate and encouraging, and to have a crew of people who made me feel safe and not rushed and not pressured, that is precisely what took the pressure off,” she explained.

    Ridley bonded with fellow Star Wars star John Boyega, too, and that helped allay some of her fears.

    “We got on so well,” Ridley said. “It was so much fun all the time, and to have him with me through this whole thing, both in filming and afterward, has been incredible.”

    Have you see Star Wars: The Force Awakens yet? If so, can you believe Daisy Ridley had to overcome fears to play Rey?

    That certainly doesn’t translate to the big screen–does it?

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