Entertainment

Daisy Ridley’s ‘Star Wars’ Audition Will Chill You

by Emily Lackey

When it comes to Star Wars, there hasn’t been anything that has converted me as a tried and true fan as much as Daisy Ridley did as Rey in The Force Awakens. I know I shouldn’t say this too loudly, because people will judge me if I admit how little I knew about Star Wars before The Force Awakens , but I wasn’t exactly a fan. Really, it was Ridley who won over my skeptical heart with her incredible acting and her incredible heart. So, it’s no wonder that I just about died when I saw Daisy Ridley’s audition for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Sure, she might not be a Jedi, but, when it comes to acting, the force is definitely with her.

I mean, one glimpse at Daisy Ridley’s audition, and you’ll realize just how incredible she is. In the video, which premiered exclusively on Buzzfeed, you can hear the voice of JJ Abrams describing the initial challenge of finding someone to play Rey. “The character needed to be vulnerable and tough, sweet and terrified,” he says. “And to find someone that no one knew who could do all these things took a lot of looking.”

It does seem like the casting directors had quite the challenge on their hands. But their challenge ended when Ridley auditioned for the part of Rey. Abrams apparently asked her to read the incredibly challenging scene where Rey out-foxes Kylo Ren purely by strength-of-mind.

And man does Daisy Ridley rise to the challenge. With some stranger’s hand on her head, you can see Ridley immediately transform herself into the intensity of what Rey is feeling in this scene. She’s physically uncomfortable, she’s straining to remain strong, and she’s crying under the force of her efforts. Honestly, I’m not so sure I’ve ever seen a better audition in my entire life.

Considering that most auditions are kind of super awkward by nature — think about it: You’ve given a scene to read with very little if any context about what else is going on for this character — it’s even more impressive that Ridley was able to step into character so quickly and so effectively in this brief audition scene.

Clearly the casting directors were onto something good with Daisy Ridley. The Force is definitely strong with her.

Click here to watch the audition video in full.

Image: Buzzfeed (2)