Daisy Ridley admits in a new interview that starring in the famous “Star Wars” franchise heightened her anxiety and took a toll on her overall health.
The British actress — who played the role of Rey in the trilogy “The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” — told Inverse magazine in a piece published last week that her mental health declined so much that by the second installment, she developed holes in her stomach.
“When all of the craziness was going on, I was like, ‘I’m good. I’m good. I’m coping fine. Everything’s fine,’” she recalled.
“And I was fine, for the most part. But I think what I was really grappling with was that it was my normal, but it was not normal to other people.”
Ridley, 31, said that ahead of the release of her first “Star Wars” film in 2015, director J.J. Abrams let her know she must “understand the scale” of the part she was taking on.
She claimed he told her, “This is not a role in a movie. This is a religion for people. It changes things on a level that is inconceivable.”
Ridley said when she first watched herself onscreen, she “literally thought [she] ruined ‘Star Wars.'”
The actress was just in her early 20s at the time, but said she now has “more grace” for it.
“It’s funny now, too, because that was 10 years ago,” the “The Marsh King’s Daughter” star said.
“So, if anything comes on the TV, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m a baby! Oh my God, that’s me as a baby!’ I wouldn’t say it’s easier, but I’ve had to become more comfortable.”
Aside from dealing with anxiety, though, Ridley was also suffering from disorders that affect thousands of women, like endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the latter of which stars like Bebe Rexha, “Pretty Little Liars” alum Sasha Pieterse and Lea Michele have openly struggled with.
Keke Palmer revealed in 2020 that PCOS had been “attacking” her “from the inside out” her entire life and brought about severe acne.
Ridley also experienced skin issues as a result of the hormonal imbalances caused by the syndrome.
Despite the stress she felt while starring in “Star Wars,” though, the actress told Inverse she “was grieving” when the last film was released in 2019.
The following year, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Ridley recalled “having to sit and just be still in lockdown,” which was “incredibly helpful, in a way [she] hadn’t anticipated.”
“I realized there was a lot that I hadn’t processed properly,” she reflected.
Ridley’s newest film, “Sometimes I Think about Dying,” was just released last Friday, and the romantic comedy about a “lonely and socially awkward woman [who] tries to make a connection with a friendly new co-worker” taught her a lot.
“I really wanted to play Fran, but it was the entire film that touched me,” she said.
bout Dying."" >“We made it coming out of lockdown, and everyone was thrilled to be together; the message I feel the film is sending is that connection is more important than everything.”
Ridley added, “We’re all fighting something that other people can’t see, and meeting people with kindness and grace and warmth is really the most any of us can do.
“It’s really uncomfortable, being human. A lot of the time, it’s really f–king hard. But, ultimately, to try is to succeed.”
