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Daisy Ridley Loved Hugging Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

By David Harris (Razor)

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One of the new stars of Star Wars: The Force Awakens — Daisy Ridley who plays Rey — discusses what it was like to get the role, crazy fan theories, and hugging Chewbacca!

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Daisy Ridley is a newcomer to the film industry. In fact, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is her very first movie…let that sink in for a moment. That’s okay though, because Ridley is handling all her new-found fame, like an veteran. Website Refinery 29 recently interviewed Ridley, and asked her all manner of neat The Force Awakens inspired questions, and the actress’ answers are very cool and informative. Daisy was first asked about the audition to get the role of Rey:

"“It’s definitely the most nervous I’ve ever been for an audition. And I was there an hour early, so I went to, like, sit in a coffee shop, and then I still got there half an hour early. I mean, I must have gone for a wee a million times.”"

Ridley goes on to talk about how they sent her away and told her to come back, which just made the anxiety of that audition that much worse. But, she did get the role, and oddly enough, J.J. Abrams remembers seeing her in the waiting room, saying she was “alight.” Ridley laughs that off and says she was sweating and the reason she was alight in the first place was because she on fire…hot. Ridley is then asked about her performance in The Force Awakens and if she was pleased with it, as she recently watched the film:

"“No. No. No. Not that I’m not happy — it’s just very weird. It’s weirder than I ever could have imagined. I was talking to Harrison [Ford] yesterday, and he said he said he still doesn’t enjoy it, watching himself.”"

This is a common characteristic of creative and talented artists. It’s nice to see that Harrison Ford and even Carrie Fisher were there for Ridley and the other young actors, to act as mentors through the entire process. As to that insane fan theory that Luke Skywalker is actually Kylo Ren, Ridley had this to say:

"“The Kylo-Luke thing. I’m like, Kylo Ren is Adam Driver! Luke Skywalker is Mark Hamill! It literally makes no sense. To me, that is crazy. I have no idea where it comes from.”"

Consider that theory officially debunked. The actress even wrily sidesteps a question about her parentage, saying “You’ll have to wait and see.” Now, as promised, Ridley did talk about what it like to hug the walking carpet, Chewbacca:

"“Imagine if the guys who played Chewbacca were like, ‘Get away from me!’ No, both Peter [Mayhew] and [his stand-in actor] are so lovely. And they’re so tall! It’s quite wonderful. So it’s like, eeeeee!” [She mimics hugging a Wookiee.]”"

I do not imagine I could start my day as an actor in a Star Wars film without hugging Chewbacca once at the beginning of the day and at the end…so it’s nice to see Ridley was just as excited as any Star Wars fan would be, in her position. As to whether she can do a good Chewie impression…the answer from Daisy Ridley is, no.

Next: Mark Hamill Lost a Ton of Weight for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

You can read the Refinery 29 article with Daisy Ridley in its entirety by clicking the link provided. And remember, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will debut worldwide on December 17 and 18…as if you needed to be reminded.

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