Top 10 Daisy Ridley Moments
Whether she is fighting the First Order or charming interviewers, Daisy Ridley is one of Hollywood's most promising talents. Today we'll be counting down some of her best moments from both her characters and the actor herself.
#10: The Call
Star Wars is one of the biggest franchises in movie history, so it’s easy to see how being part of it can be overwhelming. In her an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Ridley discusses how she couldn’t handle it when she got the role of Rey. What makes this such a great moment is how down to earth and genuine Daisy’s response to the situation is. She comes across as very humble, though it’s not hard to imagine anyone else being surprised and emotional at being cast in Star Wars.
#9: Internet Presence
In this presentation from WIRED, Daisy watches statistics about her impact on the Internet. This is a good’n because the viewer watches it along with Ridley, discovering the different facts together. Ridley comes across as both very funny and very sincere in her reactions to the different comments, stats and videos. Although there are a lot of great moments in this, the one that particularly stands out is Daisy’s gobsmacked reaction to seeing Michelle C. Smith perform an intense and impressive lightsaber routine. Seeing Ridley in awe of a Star Wars fan is fantastic!
#8: Luke’s Training
When Star Wars: The Last Jedi came out, fans expressed their desire for it to not be a retread of The Empire Strikes Back and it certainly wasn’t. Whereas Luke’s training in that film was to become a Jedi, Rey’s training in The Last Jedi is almost in spite of being a Jedi. Ridley sells Rey’s eagerness to learn perfectly and her chemistry with Mark Hamill is electric. Throughout the film, Rey acts as a beacon of light, trying to bring Luke back to believing in the Jedi again. Ridley brings an amazing mix of toughness and vulnerability to really sell Rey’s journey through this.
#7: Becoming a Jedi
Before Episode 8 came out, a training featurette was released of the cast members preparing for the physical stunts in the film. Daisy stands out as one of the most impressive in this video and you can see her clear determination in it. Mastering the fight choreography, the stunt coordinators explain how Ridley is a natural and learns the fights at an accelerated rate. Beyond this, we see how much respect she has for the craft of stunt work and the entire team, which she affectionately refers to as her ‘boys… and girls’. She seems to be a prodigy just like Rey!
#6: The Perfect Pint
Us Brits are known for many things throughout the rest of the world, but perhaps most famously, is our drinking culture. No one can quite hold down a pint like a Brit and there is a sense of pride in pouring the perfect pint. A former bartender, Ridley shows off her skills on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, discussing how to pour a pint properly. In this funny segment, we see her and Fallon ‘compete’ and Fallon arguably wins, but Daisy is very complimentary about it. If this wasn’t great enough already, we get to see her rap also in the interview.
#5: SNL Auditions
The hype surrounding the release of The Force Awakens was something that may never be matched by another film. Before its premiere, Saturday Night Live released a digital short of fake auditions for the film, featuring Ridley and John Boyega. Ridley plays most of the auditions straight and this is a brilliant counterpoint to the whacky characters she’s acting with. This was released before many people knew who she was, so it was a pretty good introduction to how game she is for most things!
#4: 73 Questions
Vogue’s series, 73 Questions, follows actors around and gives them different questions to answer. A long, uninterrupted take, the video has an intimate and genuine feeling that is hard to capture. This style perfectly suits Daisy Ridley who always comes across as kind, and more importantly, real. As Daisy leads the interviewer around the hotel she is staying at, we get to learn more about her factually but also how she treats people. The stand out moment is of course, when she starts to rap impromptu and the have to mute it because of copyright...oof.
#3: Trailer Reaction
In her discussion on how she got the role in The Force Awakens, Ridley explains how she felt when first seeing the trailer and her emotional reaction to it. What’s great about this is how similar it is to many other Star Wars fans during the build up to the release of the film. Considering that this interview came out before the film, it acted as a first impression of her for many people. She appears very calm and likable which is amazing considering the size of Star Wars. Her recounting of her first reaction to the trailer and her friend recording it is touching and funny.
#2: A British Day
While on the press tour for Ophelia, Daisy met up with Vanity Fair and took them through a typical British day. Although this may have been the original intent, it acts more as Ridley’s guide and commentary on different British things. This is great because it highlights what makes British food, supermarkets and entertainment different from the rest of the world while also showing that Ridley has a similar experience to other Brits. Never seeming too dismissive of anything, it’s a great way to give a well-rounded view of British establishments. Her commentary on Waitrose and Iceland particularly ring true!
#1: Defeating Kylo Ren
In her first appearance as Rey, Ridley surprised audiences by not only being a Force user, but being able to defeat the film’s villain, Kylo Ren, in her first lightsaber duel. This fantastic fight sequence is set in a snow covered forest, and this adds an amazing dynamic to the duel. You can see how much effort Daisy and Adam Driver put into the fight and it really works onscreen. Rey is eventually able to defeat Ren despite the seemingly impossible odds setting herself up as the new face of the franchise. After ten years of not seeing a live action lightsaber duel, this was a phenomenal sequence.
