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sleemo · 6 years

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Daisy Ridley: A New Hollywood Heroine

[ scans: daisy-ridley.net | translation by @afterblossom | copy edits by @sleemo ]

Disclaimer: This interview was translated from English to Chinese by GRAZIA and then back to English here, so these are not direct quotes from Daisy. Please excuse any awkward sentences. Some sections were difficult to translate. If you are sharing any part of this elsewhere - please give proper credit!!

GRAZIA has an exclusive interview with the most-wanted female lead in Hollywood who is the heroine in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. People [in China] call her “Dominant Daisy” and “Naïve Ridley/Rey”. Her Rey is the first female Jedi in the 40-year history of the Star Wars franchise. She is not only a Jedi in the film itself, but outside of it as well. She is concerned about social issues and, most importantly, has stayed humble after becoming a superstar. It doesn’t sound much easier than saving the universe.

— GRAZIA China, January 2018

Just before Christmas, the most anticipated film Star Wars: The Last Jedi held its premiere in Shanghai. If you’re wondering what it felt like to be there, besides that the film was fantastic and you need to book your tickets early, it’s that it was excruciatingly cold! I wore three layers and was still freezing after I came home. It made me shiver just seeing how dedicated Daisy Ridley was, wearing nothing but a cheongsam-style dress. Even though the cold made her cheeks pink, she still signed autographs for fans and each time she saw them pulling out their phones, she immediately stood by and smiled, showing off her white teeth and reminding us of the fluffy Jelly Cat Toothy toys.

One day ago, I still didn't think that way. The day before the premiere, GRAZIA had an exclusive interview with this new representative heroine from Hollywood, and I couldn’t help but do some research about her, besides that after being chosen as the new lead of the Star Wars franchise, she lifted weights for 5 hours every day. Here are some other fun facts about her:

• She is a strict vegan. That means milk, eggs, and even food containing these ingredients is a no-no for her;

• Before Star Wars: The Force Awakens she produced and narrated a documentary called The Eagle Huntress. This is a very feminist story about a 13-year-old Mongolian girl named Aisholpan who is trying to challenge a long-held tradition that’s only been passed down to boys over hundreds of generations. The girl learns how to hunt with an eagle with the help of her father and becomes the first eagle huntress;

• After her fame skyrocketed, she didn't move to Hollywood. She is still living in her house in London with her family;

• She has no social media, no Twitter, no Instagram, no Facebook. During the interview, she said, “I don't want to be a part of social media. It’s not good for your health.”;

• Oh, and she had a pitiful deaf and blind dog named Muffin.

Five hours prior to the exclusive shoot and interview, I reached the Shanghai Disneyland Star Wars Launch Base. I already felt myself walking through a long path, and I couldn’t help but think—not to prejudge her, but it must be a long, hard, and lonely path. Is she always hard on herself? Lifting the heaviest weights; having a dog that is difficult to care for; supporting her most vulnerable friends; walking the loneliest path; avoiding any temptations that humans like us fall prey to? Or should we describe her like a piece of iron?

Once we started the interview, my worries went away, because all these things I mentioned above didn't affect her cute, charming and playful personality. She is like the metal BB-8, doing big things but still being cute. She sat on the sofa, cupping her chin, with her big round eyes, rubbing the tip of her nose with her right thumb (she did this at least 5 times, oh poor nose) she looked to me like a husky dog, asking out loud: "Hey, how are you doing today?"

After that, she showed us some BiaoQingBao (表情包) expressions [@afterblossom: this is the Chinese version of memes or emojis]. When we ask about the difference between JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson, she said: “JJ is like that YOYOYO kind of guy, and Rian is huhuhu. Both of them are Star Wars fans, are good directors and screenwriters, but their temperament is different. JJ is more like heng! Rian is like en~en~”

You don't get it? Let GRAZIA translate it for you: “JJ is like those ‘Hey hey hey, give me more enthusiasm!’ sort of directors. Rian is the type who would be smoking a cigar, leisurely doing his crossword puzzles. JJ is more capricious, Rian is more steady.” Please don't praise us for our cleverness, because if you saw her snapping her fingers, crossing her legs pretending to smoke, you would totally get what she meant.

Her musical background meant that she would sometimes sing during our photo shoot in her free time. She is bright like the sun, unlike Rey, who is an orphan and a scavenger with a depressing story. "Rey is very patient, I am very stubborn. She doesn’t judge people and is far better than me... I'm trying to channel all her good personality traits, but she's saving the galaxy and I’m just a human being.”

Daisy is very modest. After being announced as the lead of the new trilogy, the 22-year-old actress’s attitude during filming was quite uncommon: “It’s the first time. La la la, just enjoy it.“ After Star Wars Episode VIII, her audition for The Force Awakens was released online and it was the interrogation scene with Kylo and Rey. You can see tears falling down her face, and even though she is wearing a simple mint green sweater and messy short hair, as a viewer you feel her emotions keenly and you can’t help but worry about her. Could not imagine these were sensations outside of method acting [Improved translation by @reylocalligraphy]: "I don’t stay in character forever, I'm more of a rational actor."

Daisy is very lucky, and her Rey is not a regular heroine or female lead. After watching The Last Jedi, everyone suddenly realized that, from the start, she was quite different from other heroines. A Mary Sue? Not at all. "Rey has more space to develop. For some female characters, the script does not allow enough time and space to do that. But in this movie, you can see how she grows and what her relationship is to the people around her. With the previous Star Wars movies, even though we had Leia and the great, awe-inspiring performance by Carrie Fisher, in the end they were still male-centric films and the fans were mostly guys. But things are different now."

Was there any risk in joining Star Wars? She shook her head and it was like some question marks appeared over her head: "What risk?!” What if the audience doesn’t like your performance? What if people only remember you as Rey? Once again, she had a puzzled look on her face like a husky dog: "Wow you really dare to ask... but no, when I started I asked myself, can I do it? But if I do it, I refuse to worry about how people think of me, otherwise there is no way to do anything. It’s just going to diminish your ability to perform."

She’s not afraid to be typecast—after Star Wars Episode VII, she worked on four more films which is set for release this year and each role was different from Rey. "How do I say this. I know as an actor there is a limit to what I can do, what I can achieve... but I didn't deliberately choose these roles that are different from Rey. It's that these cool, interesting characters found me and I am very lucky, through Rey, that I found more opportunities. One of them is a rabbit, how could it be the same? Let’s go and see."

Just like her skyrocketing fame, Daisy went from an unemployed rookie to the most wanted actress in Hollywood. In fact, she has a hard time explaining what the difference has been. Rumors say she will collaborate on a new movie with JJ Abrams: "It's not settled yet. Actually I’m very nervous because a lot of things have change in the past three or four years. I’ve done a lot that I never have before so I’m a bit worried. Will I be as good as last time?"

Perhaps we can see how she's changed through her perspective on Hollywood. Back when she had just made her debut, she said: "I admire Carey Mulligan and Felicity Jones." Now she says: "I admire a lot of actors, but now I’m more concerned with who I want to work with, like Emma Thompson, Meryl Streep..." Everyone wants to work with the big names, but clearly she has much more opportunity to do that now. She collaborated with all the masters on Murder on the Orient Express and the forthcoming Ophelia and even had a supporting role.

This change makes her nervous: "I feel I have more responsibility now. I have a deeper understanding of the unfair treatment that women experience in this industry and in movies. When I realized this, I was shocked and it's now something I worry about. Every time I see girls who like Rey, I think: 'Oh my god, they like my acting?’”

"I don't think any one quality makes for a strong woman. Every woman is strong, as long you stay true to yourself.” Don't dwell on the past, just run towards the future. This young female warrior represents the newest trend of Hollywood heroine. Your strength comes from yourself, just like the lightsaber tips she gave us: "Lift more weights! Because what's in your hand is heavy, you need to build muscle. Remember, you're stronger than you think. Every time I train I think: no no no I can't, but actually I can!"

DAISY'S PLANS FOR 2018: A pet dog, school, and beautiful clothes!

Grazia: Between BB-8, a porg, and R2-D2, which one would you choose as a pet?

Daisy: Of course it would be BB-8, he is caring, capable, quiet and not that annoying.

G: Do you think BB-8 and your dog Muffin could become best friends?

D: If Muffin was still here I'm sure she would, but she passed away a couple of months ago (G: Oh I am so sorry!) No don't be! She’s already lived for 18 years, long enough for a dog, I think she had a very good life. When she was still around, we had a small BB-8 toy, and she wore this ‘What the hell is that’ expression on her face. Muffin's been with me since I was very young and nearing the end of her life, she could no longer see or hear anything, so she became very lazy and didn’t want to go anywhere. But she's adorable indeed.

G: Do you prefer dogs?

D: Absolutely. I'm allergy to cats, and some have told me that cats are related to some witchcraft and I think... umm, dogs are great. But I still like cats.

G: Do you think about owning a dog again?

D: Yes I do! But since 2017 I’m rarely at home, so I can't take care of it. But I still plan to have a dog in the future.

G: Your middle name is Jazz, any story behind it?

D: Nothing special, my dad likes it, just like my second sister Kika, and my eldest sister’s middle name is Sophia. It’s just a cool name.

G: Why did you become vegan?

D: I saw some documentary and it was very scary, especially about the dairy industry. So I made a decision and the next day I switched to a strict vegan diet.

G: Does being vegan affect your work-outs?

D: No. When I started and I was very busy and tired, I couldn’t tell if my body was actually tired or if it was because of my vegan diet. The key thing is that you have to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients. Before, when I was working on a film, their food was so good. Now that it’s done, I have nothing to eat at home and I have to learn how to cook.

G: You studied psychology before. Why is that? Is it to help with your acting performance?

D: No no, it has nothing to do with acting. I'm very interested in psychology because I’m interested in the motives behind human behaviour, the human brain, emotions, impulses, what is behind these things? It's interesting, but in the end I studied social research. (G: How is it?) It's boring! It was an introductory course. There were two options for me to choose from, between humanities and social research. I had studied humanities before so I was thinking: wow, this time I’ll pick something different! And I chose social research... in the end... but anyway I finished it and passed the exam.

G: Why don't you continue? Too busy?

D: Yes, but next year I want to do another program. It’s a part-time course and I have 16 years to get all my credits. 6 courses need to be complete and each take 8 months. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, so I plan to finish it.

G: Did you like today’s photo shoot? Does fashion interest you?

D: I liked it. Yesterday when I went back home I was thinking, I need to upgrade my wardrobe. Otherwise, I wear beautiful clothes during the day and make a big movie, then go home at night just to wear casual stuff... It’s time to dress better.

G: What’s the last piece of clothing you purchased?

D: A Stella McCartney sweater. It’s the first piece I brought from them. Very eco-friendly, comfortable and fashionable.

G: This is your second visit to China. Would you like to try something new while you’re here?

D: I still plan to go to TongLeFang (同乐坊) [@afterblossom: a creative market in Shanghai with lots of galleries], there is a Chinese store called "Spin旋", it's awesome, I've recommended it to many people. I still want to go to the Great Wall, but my family won't allow me. They want me to take them together.

#this took forever #and the writer is a bit silly #interview #daisy ridley #rey #star wars #the last jedi #rian johnson #jj abrams #the force awakens #tlj #tfa #grazia china #cast #theafterblossom #translation #uploads #long post #*

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