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“She’s never been someone who has been in the limelight,” Tran said of her character. “And then we get to see her get pulled into the forefront of the action, and you see how she deals with it.”

Sounds like art imitating life for a certain actress.

“Totally, 100 per cent,” Tran said with a beaming grin.

Director Rian Johnson found her after “a huge, exhaustive casting search” that included well-known actresses and newcomers.

“And Kelly just, I don’t know, she really jumped out at me as someone who I was looking for in the character,” he said. “I wanted someone who — thinking back to me as a kid being a genuine nerd you could relate to — someone who didn’t feel like they belong; someone you wouldn’t necessarily imagine as a big Star Wars hero. Let’s throw them in the mix and see the world through their eyes.”

John Boyega, who plays Finn, said he could tell during the audition process that Tran had something special.

“We would do chemistry reads and it was so blatant from the beginning that she was the right girl for the part,” he said.

Both Boyega and Daisy Ridley (Rey) were also relative unknowns when they joined the Star Wars universe for 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” and Tran said they’ve been like spirit guides as she navigates a new world of international appearances and near-religious fandom.

“It is such a strange experience,” she said. “You know, it’s not like taking your driver’s test or breaking up with your boyfriend, where you can call whoever you want to be like, ‘Hey, remember when that happened?’ This is truly like you have two other people you could talk to about it.”