Daisy Ridley opens up about the stress of starring in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, revealing it even gave her a “leaky gut.” While Ridley is now a household name, she was a relative newcomer to Hollywood when she was cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Rey, a Force-sensitive young woman. She reprised her role in both Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, and is now one of the key figures of the contemporary era of the franchise, including gearing up to return for a new movie, in spite of some reservations.

In an interview with The Times, Ridley opened up about how the stress of her role in the Star Wars sequel trilogy made her physically ill. Ridley explained that her “body deals with stress in a very physical way,” so it manifested in what was essentially “a leaky gut,” or, medically speaking, stomach ulcers. The major stress she experienced was from questioning whether she was good enough for the franchise and if she deserved the role. Fortunately, she confirmed by the third film she realized she was “chosen for a reason.” Check out her statement below:

Oh, God! Essentially, it was a leaky gut. I was just knackered. I’d never travelled that much, or done press junkets, and my body deals with stress in a very physical way, so my gut was manifesting an emotional reaction to travelling around the world, people saying hello to me in the street. And me going, “What’s going on?” And worrying. “Oh s–t, should it be me?” or “Am I good enough?” And I only really felt I was by the third film, The Rise of Skywalker. By then, I felt, “OK, I was chosen for a reason.” But it took a long time. It was super intense.

Daisy Ridley Feels Ready For Star Wars Again Now

It has been five years since the Star Wars sequel trilogy ended, and although the experience was stressful and Ridley has capitalized on the opportunity to pursue other projects since then, including the upcoming Young Woman and Sea, she is now ready to return to the Lucasfilm franchise. Ridley will be reprising her role as Rey for the upcoming Star Wars: New Jedi Order, which takes place 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and sees her reinstating the Jedi Order in the galaxy. The film will be directed by Academy Award-winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

Ridley announced her role in New Jedi Order during Star Wars Celebration 2023 and remains the only confirmed cast member. The film is indicative of how important the actor is to the franchise. While several other films are in development for the franchise, including The Mandalorian and Grogu and Dawn of the Jedi, Ridley’s movie is the only one that will tackle the galaxy’s future. It will explore the year 50 ABY when the first seeds of the new Jedi Order are sown, laying the foundation for an entirely new era of Star Wars.

Although being the face of Star Wars‘ future sounds daunting, it seems Ridley is ready for it. In addition to opening up about how she learned to accept she was deserving of the role of Rey, Ridley has also discussed how she feels reprising the role will be different this time around, as it’s a new story with a new director and will take place at a time when she hopes she’ll have grown as an artist. As Ridley continues growing as an actor, it will be interesting to see the direction in which she takes Star Wars next.

Source: The Times