There are popular film franchises, and then there's Star Wars. Generations were brought up on the galaxy far, far away thanks to decades of movies and TV content (which are streaming with a Disney+ subscription). This level of fandom makes the Star Wars movies hugely successful, but there is sometimes a dark side to this devotion. Actress Kelly Marie Tran faced racist online while portraying Rose Tico, but she recently explained how that helped her grow as a person.
Tran made her debut in the franchise in Rian Johnson's subversive entry The Last Jedi. That project was polarizing, and the Raya and the Last Dragon star got a ton of racist and sexist hate. Tran eventually left social media as a result, while also getting into therapy. While promoting her new movie The Wedding Banquet, she spoke to Business Insider about how that experience has influenced her personal development. In her words:
I wouldn't be who I am today without it. Going through the therapy and counseling got me to a point where now I get to make art celebrating the parts of myself that I was taught to be ashamed of. That I was persecuted for.
That's certainly a healthy perspective on a difficult time in the actress' life. While it would be understandable if she looked back with disdain or hurt about the way she was treated online, it sounds like Tran appreciates the way she grew as a person as a result. And one can only imagine how that work on herself affected her performance in projects like The Wedding Banquet.
Despite the hate online, Tran would reprise her role as Rose in The Rise of Skywalker, although she had way less screen time than the previous film. Tran's reduced screen time didn't seem to sour her memories of working on George Lucas' beloved galaxy. In the same interview she shared:
I still hold that experience with such fondness in my heart because there was so much creativity, professionalism, and artistry on those sets. It allowed me into these audition rooms I never would've been in a million years if I hadn't done that job.
Points were made. While Kelly Marie Tran had a difficult time during her tenure as Rose Tico, the wild popularity of Star Wars made her a household name. And that type of notoriety allowed her to get her foot in the door for a number of future projects, including voicing a new Disney princess.
As Kelly Marie Tran mentioned, she's been able to create art post-Star Wars that celebrated her heritage-- one of the main targets of the online hate she received. That includes both Raya and the Last Dragon and The Wedding Banquet, which was a hit at Sundance before getting its wide release in theaters. She also recently came out as queer, so the latter project is also no doubt a moment of authenticity in that way as well.
The Wedding Banquet is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list, and Tran's time in Star Wars can be re-watched on Disney+. We'll just have to see if/when she returns to the role in an upcoming Star Wars movie or TV show.
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