Daisy Ridley Joins Roster Of Voice Talents For Studio Ghibli Classic ‘Only Yesterday’

Daisy Ridley may be new in Hollywood, but she’s already giving people a glimpse of the type of projects in which she wants to be involved. After starring in the extremely successful seventh Star War...
Daisy Ridley Joins Roster Of Voice Talents For Studio Ghibli Classic ‘Only Yesterday’
Written by Val Powell
  • Daisy Ridley may be new in Hollywood, but she’s already giving people a glimpse of the type of projects in which she wants to be involved.

    After starring in the extremely successful seventh Star Wars installment, The Force Awakens, the 23-year-old British actress is already gearing up for her next gig. This time, though, she won’t be showing her lovely face onscreen – instead, she will be lending her vocal talents to the highly acclaimed Japanese film classic, Only Yesterday.

    The Japanese animated drama film, which was first released in 1991 by the famed Studio Ghibli animation studio, is coming to North American audiences next month. New York-based film distributor GKIDS acquired the rights to the English-language version of the film in anticipation of its 25th anniversary release.

    Daisy Ridley will be lending her voice to the lead character named Taeko Okajima, a single woman in her late twenties who takes a vacation to her rural hometown to get away from her busy life in Tokyo. She then begins to have flashbacks of her childhood and spends her time trying to figure out the reason behind her strange nostalgia.

    Apart from Daisy Ridley, other big names involved in the film include fellow Brit Dev Patel, who voices Taeko’s love interest, Toshio. Orange Is the New Black’s Alison Fernandez voices young Taeko, while Star Wars Rebels’ Ashley Eckstein voices Taeko’s sister, Yaeko Okajima.

    In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Daisy Ridley praised Studio Ghibli for creating relatable stories, which she called “fantastical.”

    “They are what so many people around the world can identify with,” said Daisy Ridley of Only Yesterday. “I think the reason probably this is such a loved film and will continue to be so is because it doesn’t feel foreign.”

    Daisy Ridley Voices the Lead Character in This Classic 1991 Studio Ghibli Film

    Daisy Ridley and Studio Ghibli fans around the world can watch Only Yesterday in cinemas starting February 26, 2016, but an exclusive screening will be held at the IFC Center in New York on January 1st.

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