Daisy Ridley has the new Star Wars movie – December’s highly anticipated The Last Jedi – to promote and she’s doing it in style.
The 25-year-old British beauty has landed the November cover of Vogue magazine where she posed for an apocalyptic-looking shoot by Mario Testino.
In the star’s interview she talked about growing up a tomboy and having to get therapy after fame hit. And the 25-year-old teared up when remembering the late Carrie Fisher, who gave her some sage advice.
A new path: Daisy Ridley talked to the November issue of Vogue magazine to promote Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Ridley clearly became attached to Fisher, who died in 2016 after a heart attack on an airplane. Carrie has been with the Star Wars franchise since 1977.
‘I’d never met anyone openly bipolar before, who discussed loving glitter because of her LSD days,’ said the star. Ridley tears up.
Fisher warned her that it was hard to date once you became a Star Wars star.
New world: In the star’s interview she talked about growing up a tomboy and having to get therapy after fame hit
‘Because you don’t want to give people the ability to say “I had sex with Princess Leia,”‘ said Daisy.
The beauty has been linked to actor Charlie Hamblett, but she won’t say who she is dating now.
Getting used to fame is hard for her. ‘Everything was so confusing,’ she said of the early days.
A big jump: Here the actress is seen showing off her martial arts trained body in a shoot by Mario Testino
‘People were recognizing me—I still don’t know how to handle it. My skin got really bad because I was stressed. It was crippling. I just felt so seen and so self-conscious.’
And she had a weird encounter.
‘I heard a knock on the door. These two guys went, Hey, Daisy, can I get an autograph? and I literally went, No f***ing way.’
She broke down to her mother, who she told she could not handle the fame, and then went to therapy.
Her friend: And the 25-year-old teared up when remembering the late Carrie Fisher, who told her to be careful who to date.
‘I felt like I was sort of reducing myself because I was so worried that people would recognize me,’ she said.
‘Then she thought, “You know what? I want to dance through life. I don’t want to scuttle.”’
She added: ‘I’m very aware that there are thousands of other people who could do what I do much better, and it’s a matter of timing and luck. I’m counting my blessings that I get to be one of the people working.’
But she still has fears.
Next: As far as the plot of Last Jedi, all Ridely will say is that we find out more about Rey’s family. ‘It’s s essentially a family drama that’s played out in this big, expansive world’
‘I worry that things start to seem normal that aren’t normal. You get rushed through airports, and you never have to queue, and you get tickets to things that you wouldn’t otherwise. I think it’s important to remind yourself that it’s not normal. It’s difficult, though, because it is my normal.’
As far as working on the Star Wars films, it’s physically hard.
The beauty said Lightsabers are ‘really heavy – three, four, five kilos? And the weight’s very unevenly distributed.’
To look in Jedi form, she took martial-arts training. ‘You do, like, eight thwacks one way, eight the other, eight up, eight down.’
As far as all the fame that has come with being in The Force Awakens, she said ‘you don’t really know what you’re getting into’ even though director JJ Abrams warned her people think of the film franchise as a ‘religion.’
She auditioned several times over seven months.
Brave: In her interview it’s revealed that she is close to her family and was a tomboy growing up. ‘Loud. Often very sassy. Insane amounts of energy. I remember asking, “Was I shy?” And my mum laughing hysterically’
‘When I read the full script I was like, “Holy sh**,”‘ she said.
Abrams said he picked her because she was an unknown and also an ’emotional person, a true person, a funny-as-hell person.’
He added she was ‘almost preternaturally confident. We needed someone whom you felt like you could know. Who was beautiful but not someone who seemed like they were from another species. You needed to love her. Daisy came in, and her face was expressive and wide-eyed and lovely, and it was so clear.’
Her mentor: In the Last Jedi she spends a lot of time with Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill
Last Jedi director Rian Johnson said he took to Daisy because ‘you saw the story through her eyes.’
As far as the plot of Last Jedi, all Ridely will say is that we find out more about Rey’s family. ‘It’s s essentially a family drama that’s played out in this big, expansive world.’
And she added that there will be more talking with Luke than running around with Finn.
Bad boy: Adam Driver is back as the evil Kylo Ren, but it’s hinted he may soften in this film
Also in her interview it’s revealed that she is close to her family and was a tomboy growing up.
‘Loud. Often very sassy. Insane amounts of energy. I remember asking, “Was I shy?” And my mum laughing hysterically. She said I used to run into a room and go, “Helloooo!”‘
She went to a performing-arts boarding school because she had so much entergy.
‘Literally just to keep me busy, because the days were twelve hours long,’ said the star.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens on December 15 in the US.