Get to Know Daisy Ridley
Which director is she hoping to work with?
Will she be in the new Harry Potter series?
COLLIDER: Before we get intoCleaner, I want to do something called Get to Know Daisy Ridley.
Image via Quiver Distribution
What movie do you think you’ve seen the most?
DAISY RIDLEY: Maybe something likeLove Actually.
But also, it’s probably an animated movie.
Oh god,Love Actually.
Before getting cast inThe Force Awakens, you worked in two pubs in London.
I don’t know what you did.
Image via Quiver Distribution
RIDLEY: I was a bartender, yeah.
The two pubs are quite near my moms house, so Im not going to shout them out.
I was looking at this guy, thinking, I really recognize this guy.
Is he an actor?
And he was the guy from the pub!
He was so sweet.
Image via Quiver Distribution
Weirdly, he did a book about David Bowie, which is also very strange.
How many times have you watchedThe Force Awakens?
RIDLEY: [Laughs] Imagine if I was, like, Fifty.
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
I’ve watched it maybe three times around the time it came out.
It really felt very sweet to watch very young me on the screen.
If you’re feeling down, what is the movie or TV show you go to?
RIDLEY:Friends, probably.
I’ve heard that from one or two people.
What is your go-to fast food choice?
Image via Quiver Distribution
RIDLEY: Oh, a burger from a place called Honest Burgers.
They do a banging vegan burger.
What’s a project that you wish more people had seen?
Image via Quiver Distribution
RIDLEY: Oh, that’s interesting.
If anyone has not seenMagpie, its an idea by Daisy and really good.
What’s a stunt you wish youdidn’tdo?
Image via Quiver Distribution
I think I pulled something out of my shoulder because we had to do that quite a few times.
Would you say that was the toughest stunt of your career?
That one was tricky, though, because of the choreography.
Image via Quiver Distribution
Basically, I was up there and there were two guys holding me in the corner on a rope.
So, it wasn’t a pulley system, and often that is how you measure everything.
But when it’s people, theres a margin of error.
Image via Disney
So, someone had to hold my toes because I was swinging.
Speaking of takes, what’s the most takes you’ve ever done for a project and why?
RIDLEY: Martin [Campbell] was a many-taker.
Image via Neon
He really is so specific about everything.
I would say that we probably did more takes with him than I have done before.
Hes just very specific.
Image via Lucasfilm
I mean, there’s loads.
Is there someone at the top of the list?
RIDLEY: Greta Gerwig is up there.
Have you asked to be in Narnia?
I’m such a huge fan.
Of course, she’s going to be absolutely amazing.
And it might not be.
But, yes, I asked.
By the way, you should.
I love her movies.
I feel it would be interesting to know, What was it like for you, Audrey Hepburn?
Have you ever picked a project based on where it’s shooting?
RIDLEY: [Laughs] No.
But when a nice location comes up, you think, Oh, lovely!
I read that you were a big Harry Potter fan when you were growing up.
What house do you think you’d be put in?
RIDLEY: I was either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.
There’s a huge Harry Potter series being made.
They’re going to do, like, seven or eight seasons.
Have you asked anyone to be a part of it?
RIDLEY: Huge commitment of time.
But really, I just love the films.
Do you have a strategy for social media or do you wing it each day?
RIDLEY: I wing it.
My algorithm tends to be sweet videos of babies when the parents come home and theyre happy.
I don’t know why.
So yeah, it tends to be a winging it situation and watching sweet videos.
You’ve been in three Star Wars movies.
How would you rank them?
RIDLEY: Sophies Choice.
So, say you’re filmingCleaneron September 1st.
Are you in training?
How are you looking at the script?
How are you thinking about your performance so you are comfortable when you step on set that first day?
RIDLEY: For this, I had about six weeks of physical training.
It really depended on the day.
I remember doing a chemistry read with Matthew [Tuck], who plays my brother.
How much are you looking at the script and thinking about dialogue?
We would do those sequences in order when it was tilted in various sections of the film.
I don’t know that I feel I know anything now that I didn’t know then.
But again, I always knew that.
Really, you just never know what’s going to happen.
You dont know how the scene is going to go.
You could prepare and prepare and prepare for A, and then B would happen or C would happen.
Maybe its being okay with things not going how you thought they might go.
You’re number one on the call sheet on this movie.
What kind of added responsibility do you feel when you are the leader of a movie?
RIDLEY: I think it’s probably the previous answer.
Just generally making other people’s days not difficult.
What have the last few years been like for you?
What’s it been like for you?
RIDLEY: I feel really genuinely blessed that I have not been pigeonholed.
I love such different films for various different reasons.
I love all different types of actors and directors.
For the last few years, this felt really great.
How am I going to do this?
How am I going to do this day after day after day after day when I’m exhausted?
For people who have not seenYoung Woman and the Sea, it’s really worth your time.
It’s streaming on Disney+.
He’s a wily fellow.
I think the Hans Gruber and Alan Rickmans performance might be the best antagonists.
He’s one of the best villains in movie history.
He’s amazing in that.
Its a completely different role but amazing.
RIDLEY: And then, lest we forget, Severus Snape.
I could keep going.
RIDLEY: Honestly, rewatching him, he’s just got so much tangible… And he’d be like, I got it.
So you are offered a lot of scripts.
What was it about this one that said, I want to do this?
RIDLEY: Honestly, the first thing I saw was Martin Campbell, and I was like, Legend.
Then I read it, and I found the story to be very propulsive.
I feel like their relationship is very understandable to a lot of people.
She’s trying to do the best she can.
I really think that’s what makes Martin’s film so special.
I also appreciated that your character is not like Jason Bourne.
you might be beaten.
RIDLEY: Oh, yeah.
But yeah, she can be beaten.
On this one I was sending pictures again, and everyone’s like, Are you okay?
Why are you always beaten up in the things you do?
The makeup in this was so phenomenal.
Because of this insane black eye that she had built.
It’s scary, though.
For me, I would be at the Starbucks immediately.
RIDLEY: It would mess people up.
So Clive Owen is in the movie and you have, I think, zero scenes.
Except when I’m next to his…
Yeah, exactly.
Were you like, Martin, can I have a scene with Clive?
And then we did not share a scene.
But I did say hello to him, and it was very joyful.
Watching Clive come on set, he has such presence and magnetism.
I was there when he came on to do something, and I thought, What a guy.
So I read that part of this was filmed in Malta.
Were you in Malta for this?
Honestly, it was a bit of a holiday and it was really nice.
Everyone else was working.
It was the very final moment when my face isn’t even on the camera.
It was really nice.
Where was this in Malta?
RIDLEY: They actually did some of the interiors in Malta.
They did inside the police HQ and then just that gorgeous trackback shot at the very end.
Tax rebates, everyone.
RIDLEY: Thanks, Malta!
Because you could obviously see everywhere they were filming.
In this, the antagonist makes a lot of really good points but just goes one step too far.
He wants people to stop screwing things up, which of course, we can all relate to.
I think the world is really at a tipping point with how angry people are.
I’m just going to get myself in trouble.
Ill just say that I think he makes good points in the movie but goes too far.
You do not have 200 days to make this.
Let’s talk about the sequence where you’re burning the woman’s face.
Take us through filming that sequence and what it actually entails.
Is that like a one-day, five days?
Also, in that time, you’re trying really hard not to get injured.
So shoutout to those Nana necklace things.
So, typically, it depended.
It takes both longer and less time than you think it’s going to take.
You feel like, Oh, surely we can do this in one day?
And then, of course, there’s 100 other things to do.
But I’m going to round it up to two weeks it took for all of the action.
Were you filming all the action in that two-week span?
What is that like every night going home?
Of course, you’re already tired because youve shot a whole movie.
So, that was really about trying to limit how injured I was.
But yeah, it was super intense.
And the wire work all happened in that time.
Or is it like, Youre on your own, and youve got to get through this?
So I was making sure I was doing that.
Then, obviously, you just eat so much because youre so tired and going so consistently.
RIDLEY: We had really good craft and we had one amazing barista.
Those coffees were so good.
We actually got into the habit of at 3:30, we would all get a hot chocolate.
It was really nice because of the sugar.
But it was just so lovely because it becomes a sort of ritualized moment of togetherness.
You knew where you were in the day because the thing about doing stunts is time becomes a vortex.
You just don’t know where you are or how much you’ve done.
So, it was a nice way to break up the day, that hot chocolate.
I obviously laughed about this.
Do you have a favorite Marvel movie or a favorite Marvel character?
RIDLEY: Oh, interesting.
Spider-Man from the Spider-Verse.
Daisy Ridley Is Teaming Up With Martin Campbell Again
The writing is super sharp.
You recently signed on to do another movie with Martin Campbell.
What can you tell people about it, and are you filming it this year?
RIDLEY: We should be.
I play someone in the military.
Its an American military thing.
I’m like, Wow, does this sound just likeCleaner?
[Laughs] She has to save the day.
Listen, I’m totally down for that because I really believe that there are not enough female-led protagonists.
RIDLEY: Also, it’s interesting because I’m so specific about what I like script-wise.
I was like, This is amazing.
But I love this thing.
It’s just a really fantastic script, and getting to work with him again is amazing.
The thing he loves to say is hell come in and hell go, Communion.
Are you close enough?
Are you sharing enough?
It’s a wonderful way to work.
You did this video game calledTrailblazer, and it comes out next month.
You produced, and you starred.
What can you tell people about it?
Her husband had invented an automobile, but he had crashed it, and it had all gone wrong.
There were various things she did along the way.
In the age of innovation, shes a real, proper trailblazer.
Have you played the finished version of the game?
RIDLEY: I haven’t, no.
It lookedbeautiful, the images that I’ve seen.
Is it like a Steam game?
Is it a console game?
RIDLEY: It’s VR.
I’m looking forward to it next month.
We Bury the Dead Is an Emotional Zombie Movie
Its beautiful.
We Bury the Deadpremieres at SXSW.
What do you want to tell people about it?
What are you excited for people to see in it?
And I was like, That’s great!
She doesn’t know what she’s going to find.
She doesn’t know if he’s alive or dead or somewhere in between.
So, it’s beautiful.
The Women in the Castle, did this happen?
RIDLEY: No, that did not happen.
I was desperate for something.
Do you have a favorite piece of Star Wars merch?
RIDLEY: I mean, my lightsaber.
Its so funny, too, I have it in sort of a random place.
The other day, I was like, Oh, my lightsaber!
Yes, I actually have two.
What about the toys and stuff that have been made?
Do you have any of that stuff?
So, that went out to various friends and family.
I really have a BB-8 in my car that I just can’t part with.
What is actually your favorite part about being in the Star Wars Universe?
RIDLEY: It’s weird.
I feel like the double take has been happening more recently.
Its sort of waves.
But the best thing about being a part of it is that I get to be part of it.
It’s just so beautiful.
Ultimately, its all about good versus evil, and people are overcoming.
The feeling that we all have together is the best part.
I’m going to be in Tokyo for the Celebration.
RIDLEY: Oscar [Isaac]s going, as well.
Any plans to go to Tokyo?
RIDLEY: I might be doing something then, production-wise.
I was hoping to go, but I don’t know.
I read that you’re attached toMind Fall, which sounds like a cool project.
What can you tell people?
I’m still hopeful.
I’ve become very comfortable with things either taking 10 years to get made or getting made tomorrow.
It’s the beginning of 2025.
What do you have lined up that you’re filming this year or doing that you could tell people?
RIDLEY: There’s something next month that is very exciting.
Once I’m able to share it, it is literally a dream.
So you’re filming something?
Are you training right now, or are you thinking about it?
RIDLEY: I’m thinking about it.
Then there’s potentially something after that.
I like the mystery.
RIDLEY: Also, I don’t want to jinx it.
That’s the other thing.
Hopefully, you’ll also come up with another idea for a movie.
RIDLEY: Oh, I have.
You’re cheating on your husband?
When I went to the meeting, he was like, I can’t believe youre doing this.
I want to be in it.
I was like, just show me the script.
I can’t wait to read this script.
Cleaneris now playing in theaters.
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