Daisy Ridley became a superstar practically overnight with her starring role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and although more big roles are certain in her future, she’s taking a break from the big screen–at least for the moment–to hit the recording studio. The difference between Daisy and most young actors who do the same thing is, well, she’s recording a song with an icon.
Ridley has been teasing fans about a duet with someone big for a while on Instagram, and this week she finally revealed who it is: Barbara Streisand.
Daisy said recently in an interview that her Star Wars director, J.J. Abrams, had kept people guessing with his hints that she was working with a big star but no one had even come close to figuring out who it was.
“I can tell you everyone’s guesses are way off. When J.J. said ‘superstar,’ he meant a legendary awe-inspiring jaw-dropping superstar,” Daisy said.
Ridley reportedly recorded the song on Saturday, but she’s been singing for quite a while. In fact, she would sing on set during breaks, and J.J. Abrams became an instant fan.
“One day on set, she just started singing and had the most beautiful voice I ever heard,” Abrams said.
Daisy–who worked at a pub before getting the call that she’d earned the part of Rey–said last year that she was glad to have Abrams at her side during filming, when she was still figuring out the details of how everything was going to work. The actress trained for months for the role, getting her body in shape for weeks of filming in the desert.
“I had to look like I could look after myself in the desert and drag and scavenging things across sand. 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,” Daisy Ridley said.