Daisy Ridley recently confessed in an interview with Inverse that she felt extreme stress during her initial days on the Star Wars set, particularly the dread of not living up to the expectations of the Star Wars fandom.
Ridley is geared up to return in the new installment of Star Wars, directed by Sharmeen Obad-Chinoy and written by Steven Knight.
She revealed that J.J. Abrams, the director, had cautioned her about the enthusiasm of the Star Wars fandom. To some degree, this is accurate—we’ve seen a classic case in Big Bang Theory, where the physicists lost their minds at the mere mention of Star Wars.
“Understand the scale. This is not a role in a movie. This is a religion for people. It changes things on a level that is inconceivable.”
Daisy Ridley Opens Up About Feeling Overwhelmed By Star Wars Fandom
It is not unknown news that after “The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi,” Ridley was subjected to extreme harassment online by the Star Wars fandom. It started with the release of The Force Awakens when the fandom started attacking her with bigotry, which did not just affect Daisy but also her co-stars. The aftereffect of this harassment led Daisy to wipe her existence off Social Media in 2016.
“When all of the craziness was going on, I was like, ‘I’m good. I’m good. I’m coping fine. Everything’s fine.’ And I was fine, for the most part. But I think what I was really grappling with was that it was my normal, but it was not normal to other people. For friends and family, or any people who see something in a slightly different way than you do, there’s this projection of you, and you in that world, and how it feels to do this and that. And you’re like, ‘Well, actually, I’m just a human being, separate from that.’ It’s quite this wrestle, of the reality and the fantasy that’s often projected onto you.”
Ridley was the face of the Star Wars franchise throughout the sequel trilogy’s release, and she bore the brunt of the reaction from toxic sections of the fans. Heading the franchise had a severe impact on her mental and physical health, especially at this early stage in her career.
Daisy Ridley admits the reaction to THE RISE OF SKYWALKER was “upsetting”
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— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) January 29, 2024
Daisy Ridley Hopes For A Better Experience With The Upcoming Chapter Of Her Life
Ridley’s new movie, “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” tells the story of Fran, an awkward office worker who goes on with her life performing mundane tasks and often imagines herself as a corpse. Fran’s world turns over when she begins a relationship with a new co-worker, Dave Merheje, at her workplace. Ridley is hopeful for the upcoming chapter of her life, where she will be reprising her role as Rey Skywalker in the new installment of Star Wars.
