'Star Wars gave me choices'

Since leaving Rey behind, Daisy Ridley’s acting roles have defied expectations. But, as she tells Louis Chilton, nothing prepared her for the rigours of new kick-ass thriller Cleaner’

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What sort of actor is Daisy Ridley? Four words might cover it. “I’m not an arsehole!” says the 33-year-old Star Wars alum, in that buoyant, unassuming voice that makes you instantly believe her. “That seems like a funny thing to say, but over time, you realise people [in show business] behave really badly. I’m hardworking; I turn up on time; I know my lines; I know where I need to be.” She pauses. “But in a sort of metaphysical way? I don’t know...”

It’s been over a decade now since Ridley was cast as the lead in 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, once the third-biggest film of all time. Flanked by John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, Ridley was the face of Disney’s sequel trilogy, playing the Luke Skywalker-esque Jedi prodigy plucked from sandy anonymity to save the galaxy. From this success came other blockbusters – the Agatha Christie adaptation Murder on the Orient Express (2017), the YA sci-fi Chaos Walking (2021), opposite Tom Holland – as well as more cerebral indie fare.

It’s easy to forget – in the woozy afterglow of two polarising Star Wars sequels, and the wildly inconsistent franchise sprawl that followed for the series – just how much Ridley popped when she made her big-screen debut. Then a near-total unknown in her early twenties, Ridley held her own alongside established stars such as Driver and Isaac; critics and dyed-in-the-wool Star Wars fanatics poured praise on the film, but particularly its young star. Rarely does a new actor engender such immediate enthusiasm – I suppose you would call it charm. I’m reminded of this feeling as Ridley barrels into our video call today, her Zoom account bearing the name Tom Bateman (a British actor, and Ridley’s husband). “I’m so sorry, I cannot change my bloody name on this!” she says, with a sort of sunny bluster. “How incredibly unprofessional. I’m me, for God’s sake.”