Since high school, I've seen the career of Star Wars and Young Woman and the Sea Daisy Ridley blossom. I was a freshman in high school when The Force Awakens came out, a fact that shocked Ridley.
“Oh my god, you're so young!” she exclaimed.
But since The Rise of Skywalker, Ridley has undergone a career shift. She has largely stayed out of blockbuster tentpoles since her initial Star Wars tenure ended. Some of her credits in that span include indie films such as Sometimes I Think About Dying, The Marsh King's Daughter, and Magpie.
Adulting
Nothing lasts forever, though. Daisy Ridley will return as Rey Skywalker in an upcoming Star Wars film. Since 2019, Ridley has grown a lot. In an interview with Empire, Ridley said that she's “an adult now” and ready to return to the galaxy far, far away.
“I think it's not that I learned [anything specific]‚ I mean, I learned a lot from films, but really, I think emotionally, we had a worldwide lockdown and there is so much that has happened in the last few years that honestly make you think it's not all about me,” Ridley told ClutchPoints about what she has learned in her transition to adulthood. “That's a good, just human understanding.”
The lockdown gave Ridley a greater appreciation for the cast and crews she works with. It takes more than one person to make a successful film, and Ridley now knows that.
“Coming back into films and also really understanding that the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts. Coming into these films and being so prepared and working so hard, but ultimately knowing that we're all a team, and it takes so much to make these wonderful films,” Ridley said. “And I'm more appreciative than ever of every crew member and every cast member.”
At the end of the day, between life and her career, “I guess I am more of an adult now,” Ridley sheepishly concluded on the matter.
Young Woman and the Sea
In Young Woman and the Sea, Daisy Ridley plays the legendary Olympic swimmer, Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle. Joachim Rønning directed the film based on a script from Jeff Nathanson. The film is based on Glenn Stout's biography of the same name.
If nothing else, Young Woman and the Sea features breathtaking racing scenes. As Trudy, Ridley is shown swimming 21 miles across the English Channel. Even with the safety of her crew, the sequences were intimidating to film. I'm sure she was even more thankful to this crew for keeping her safe, even if the intrusive thoughts hit during these filming days.
“Look, the reality was [that] by that point, I was a good swimmer. I knew what I had to do,” Ridley said. “But for us to film, because we're in the sea, the support boat that would take me and put me in the water had to get out of the shot.
“So, even that was like 10, 15 seconds. And then there's a moment [when] the Alsace [tides] would start moving and I would start swimming and I would have to then keep pace. But there were moments where I thought, Okay, for someone to come and get me, it's like 10, 15 seconds — a lot can happen in 10 or 15 seconds,” she continued.
She then recalled one particularly frightening moment. It was when Trudy was sabotaged and Daisy Ridley had to act that out.
“That was really scary because the current is pulling [me] and my face is underwater, so you don't know where you're going,” she recalled.
A scary build-up
To make matters worse, they backloaded the filming schedule with swimming days. Ridley revealed that most of the film was done ahead of nine days of filming swimming scenes. The lead-up to the filming days got to her.
“I think the run-up to the big swim was probably the most difficult time because we had done most of the film already,” she explained. “So I was already tired and we had already done a lot of swimming. So physically [and] emotionally, I was tired. And then I was trying to keep my mind on what we were filming while knowing that I had to prepare for nine days in the sea.
“The build-up was almost worse than the thing, but then there were moments where I thought, How am I going to do this? How am I going to come back tomorrow and do this and the next day, and the next day?” she added.
To help with the stress, Ridley said, “There were lots of deep breaths, lots of distraction games, and lots of playing music, and staying warm in between times. And honestly, hanging out and being silly.”
At least Ridley had a strong support system. When she doubted herself, Siobhan O'Connor, an Olympic silver medalist, would pump her up and reassure her.
“When I thought, Oh, I don't know [if] I can do this again, I would turn — and Siobhan, who trained me, would be there saying, ‘You absolutely can do it.' And then I'd see Joachim's face smiling up on the outside and think, Okay, I can do it,” Ridley recalled. “And I would see Tilda [Cobham-Hervey], who plays Margaret. So, there was so much support coming at me, even in those scary moments.”
Lightsaber vs. swimming training
On a lighthearted note, I asked Daisy Ridley if doing lightsaber for Star Wars or swimming training for Young Woman and the Sea was easier. She concluded that they are “incomparable.”
“It's so hard. It's incomparable,” Ridley said with a smile. “I learned [lightsaber dueling] when I was 21 and I was learning to swim at 30 — different times in my life.”
However, she did say that “swimming is such a specific sport” before recalling advice O'Connor gave her.
“I remember Siobhan saying, ‘You just can't do anything else to make you a better swimmer but swim,'” she said. “And it takes a toll. But both are difficult in their ways.”
Young Woman and the Sea seemingly gets the nod over Star Wars from Ridley, though. She clearly takes great pride in the work she did in the biopic.
“With Young Woman and the Sea, watching it, I'm really proud of the work I put in. Because I think watching it, you couldn't have faked the scope of what we were doing. And helping to bring Trudy's story to light is such a privilege.”
Young Woman and the Sea will be released on May 31.
Follow Us
Subscribe
