Daisy Ridley

Ridley began her career with minor roles in the television programmes Youngers, Toast of London, Silent Witness, Mr Selfridge, and Casualty.[19][20][21][22] She appeared in the short film Blue Season, which was entered into the Sci-Fi-London 48-Hour Film Challenge.[23] Ridley played the lead in film three of Lifesaver,[24] an interactive film which was nominated for a BAFTA Award.[25] She also appeared in the music video for Wiley's song "Lights On", playing the character of Kim.[14][26] Ridley made her film debut in the 2015 British independent horror film Scrawl, after her scenes from the British comedy film The Inbetweeners 2 were removed in the final cut.[27]

Ridley's costume from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts

In April 2014, the casting of Ridley as Rey, one of the lead characters in The Force Awakens, was announced.[19][20][21] She was cast for the film in February 2014.[28] At the time of her casting she was, according to Rolling Stone, a "total unknown."[29] Her choice by director J. J. Abrams was seen as a repeat of George Lucas' move of casting relatively unknown actors for the lead roles in the first Star Wars film in 1977.[30]

Ridley began filming her scenes in May 2014 at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, and prior to the film's release in December 2015, she appeared at the launch of a set of Star Wars postage stamps issued by the UK postal service Royal Mail, with her character Rey featuring on a stamp along with the droid BB-8.[31][32] With international revenues of over $2 billion,[33] The Force Awakens was a major box-office hit and the highest-grossing film of 2015. Her performance received critical acclaim, with Richard Roeper describing her portrayal as "a breakout performance" and adding "Ford has a terrific father figure chemistry [shared] with Ridley and [John] Boyega".[34]

Ridley became executive producer of the documentary The Eagle Huntress in January 2016,[35] which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2016;[36] she also recorded narration for the film's wide release.[37] Ridley was one of several actors featured on Barbra Streisand's 2016 album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. Along with Anne Hathaway, Ridley and Streisand perform the song "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line, with Ridley performing the role of Bebe, one of a trio of dancers hoping to be cast in a forthcoming show.[38][39]

In 2017, Ridley portrayed Mary Debenham in Murder on the Orient Express, an adaptation of Agatha Christie's detective novel of the same name. Directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, production began in London in November 2016.[40] She also reprised her role as Rey, opposite Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker,[41] in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was released in December 2017.[42]

In January 2018, Ridley starred in the titular role in Ophelia, a reimagining of the Hamlet tale, alongside Naomi Watts and Clive Owen. The project was filmed from April to July 2017 and debuted at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.[43][44] In February 2018, Ridley voiced the role of Cottontail in Peter Rabbit, an adaptation of the children's stories of the same name by Beatrix Potter.[45]

In December 2019, Ridley appeared as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the last film in the sequel trilogy.[46] She is not expected to reprise her role again after this film,[47] and is quoted as saying, "I don't think anything could top [The Rise of Skywalker] for this character." However, she reflected her co-star John Boyega's opinion that if more films were made without her involvement, she would feel left out.[48]

Ridley will co-star in the Chaos Walking, an adaptation of the young-adult novel by Patrick Ness, as Viola Eade opposite Tom Holland as Todd Hewitt. The project was filmed from August to November 2017, with reshoots around April to May 2019,[49][50][51][52] and is now scheduled for release on 5 March 2021.[53]

Additional films in pre-production/development include indie drama Daddio,[54] three Bad Robot films including fantasy drama Kolma,[55] biographical spy-thriller A Woman of No Importance,[56] and slice-of-life drama Piece of Mind,[57] Netflix's superhero comedy Super-Normal,[58] war romance-drama The Lost Wife,[55] mk2's animated feature The Inventor,[59][60] STX's murder mystery-thriller The Ice Beneath Her,[61] World War II drama Women In The Castle,[62] and the Disney+ original Young Woman and the Sea.[63]

In addition to acting, she will lend her voice for the upcoming indie games 12 Minutes[64][65] and Baba Yaga.[66][67]