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Daisy Ridley’s Rey was the big question mark hanging over The Force Awakens . Who is she? Where did she come from? Most of those remain unanswered as we go into The Last Jedi , so we decided to see what Ridley herself could tell us.

What went through your mind when you first read the script for Star Wars: The Last Jedi?

The first time I read the script, I was surprised. I had ideas about what would happen in the story, but I was taken aback by what does happen.

How would you describe the story of The Last Jedi?



Rian has written a story that’s unexpected but right. Some of the story will really surprise you. Even though everyone knows it’s the second in the trilogy, it feels like its own thing. It’s pretty epic.

What’s different about the script for The Last Jedi?



Lots of people had been saying how much they loved to watch John [Boyega] and me on screen together in The Force Awakens – but I suddenly thought: ‘How are people going to react to me being with Mark [Hamill]?’ As soon as I read it, I talked to Rian about it and I loved what he said. It made everything seem great.

There is a lot of action in The Last Jedi. Which of the stunts was the toughest for you?

The dive into the water was the scariest and most thrilling. The lightsaber stuff was great because I felt like I was stronger and I could push myself further than I could the first time around. I felt like I was mirroring the story. But the dive was my favourite.

How nervous were you about the dive?

It was scary, but it was also frickin’ awesome! I did a skydive once, but I’ve never done a bungee jump. For the dive, I was stood on a platform 30 feet up. I had to launch myself down and supposedly survive.

Was the dive as terrifying as going face-to-face with Kylo Ren?

Facing up against Kylo was intense. Adam Driver is big and strong and it was intense. I was thinking: ‘Can I genuinely survive this fire? I don’t know how long I can last because he’s so strong.’