Celebrity: Daisy Ridley – The Force Is With Her

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Has this all been a whirlwind what with it being the last time you play Rey? Yeah, a little bit. What stands out most is the fact that I have been extremely fortunate to have been playing Rey at all, as well as working for J.J. (Abrams) and it’s made me feel so good about myself doing it. I can only hope that this may open other doors to playing female characters like Rey in the future. But also, to be able to work with the excellent and amazing cast and crew like we have had on these new Star Wars trilogy films over the last five years or so.

How much are you looking forward to everyone seeing it? I have been so excited since day one and that includes filming it, being on set, waking up every morning and seeing new theories about what people are expecting or making predictions about, then when I watched the trailer in the summer and the last trailer just recently. To see how excited everyone is about it, that makes me so glad and happy.

It was so good to be somewhere near the centre of what fans were really excited to react to, since in the past I have been only on the periphery. But now, when we see her with that red lightsabre, is she going to the Dark Side? Well, stayed tuned to find out more. [Laughs]. I just can’t believe that that bit went out in a trailer…

The other thing is that all the promotion of the film is brilliant and fun and just the best thing in the world. But then, when you stop to think that once all of the promotion is over, then that’s literally it. The film will be out, everyone will know what’s going to happen, the inevitable will happen and none of us will be together as a team. So, that’s a bit sad.

But what was so bittersweet was that it was very sad when the filming ended on set, it genuinely was. However, the energy had been completely sapped from my mind, body and soul, and I honestly don’t think that I could have picked myself up and gone again.

As it is going to be the end of the Star Wars saga, do you feel that the fans will be happy with how it’s going to be wrapped up? Yes, I honestly do think that they will be happy with how it ends, and it’s not just about that, but also about the fact that they didn’t know what the focus of the film is and now that they do, they are well in tune and they now just seem eager to see it.

For me, I was crying an incredible amount once I knew that it was the last shot. When J.J. wrapped me up, I can’t even remember what he said or what I said, except for the fact that I was crying down the mic and saying: “I am so sorry, but I just want you and everyone to know that I have had such a great time!”