Being one of the lead actors in a Star Wars movie, actress Daisy Ridley’s life changed in a major way when she became a part of the Force Awakens cast. But while you may think that the moment she realized she had become a part of such a big universe would have come when she first tried on her costume, or stepped on to the Millennium Falcon, it actually wasn’t until the convention known as Star Wars Celebration earlier this year that she really felt the full impact of what she was doing.
Last weekend, I had the wonderful pleasure of sitting down on camera with Ridley during a Los Angeles press day for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and it was during our conversation that she revealed the moment when she understood her new place in pop culture. Being entirely honest, she admitted that Star Wars was not a big part of her life prior to taking on the role of Rey, but that she finally understood the enormity of it when she went to one of the world’s biggest fan gatherings. Said the actress,
Probably at [Star Wars] Celebration, the convention this year. It’s weird for me. It didn’t really have a huge impact on my life – obviously now it does. Being behind [the curtain] and hearing the screams for J.J. [Abrams] and Kathy [Kennedy], I was like, ‘Oh my goodness." Stepping out on stage, this wave of love – this intense love. And that’s the wonderful thing. Even the baddies, people love them in a really pure way. And the people who love the goodies don’t hate the people who love the baddies… it’s just all this wonderful thing! And to be a part of that, the energy in that room. Amazing.
Going further, Daisy Ridley also added that the experience she had at Star Wars Celebration only has the opportunity to grow going into the future. Star Wars: The Force Awakens represents the relaunch of the franchise and the opportunity for an entire new generation to be touched by the beloved sci-fi story and its legendary characters. Surely Ridley will find her way to more conventions in the future, and she clearly looks forward to feeling more of that energy and hearing more stories:
But kind of going forward, everyone has a story. It’s crazy how much it’s impacted people. So, again, I think that will grow, and hopefully with a new audience coming in for The Force Awakens, hopefully it will continue to grow.
You can watch Daisy Ridley discuss the monumental moment in the video below:
Because she is a newcomer and because the marketing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been largely vague, we don’t really know much about Daisy Ridley or Rey, but all of our questions will be answered very soon. Look for the film in theaters this Friday, December 18th, and stay tuned for more of our coverage!
