Daisy Ridley says she was called ‘intimidating’ on set of new film Chaos Walking

Star Wars actor plays the mysterious Violet, who crash-lands on a planet where all the women have disappeared

Daisy Ridley has said she was shocked at being branded “intimidating” while on the set of new film Chaos Walking.  

The Star Wars actor appears opposite Spider-Man star Tom Holland in the adaptation of Patrick Ness’s dystopian young adult series, which is scheduled for release in 2021.

It follows Todd Hewitt (Holland) who discovers the mysterious Viola (Ridley), after she crash-lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared.  

Ridley claims she received the comment while she was having her character’s wig fitted.

“I've been told that I'm intimidating,” she told Tatler. “That was on Chaos Walking. I was having my hair done, having my wig put on. I remember thinking, 'God, should I be smaller? Should I be quieter?'”

Daisy Ridley (Rex Features)

She also revealed one director she previously worked with had told her that her energy was “quite aggressive”.

“I was thinking: 'But why? Is it because I maintained eye contact?” she said. “Is it because I'm passionate about what we're talking about?' I dunno.”

“You have that horrible sinking feeling of, 'God, do I not come across the way I think I do?”' she added.

Ridley, who appears on the cover of Tatler’s February 2021 issue, also said she had struggled with the overnight fame caused by her role in 2015’s The Force Awakens.

“When I signed on to Star Wars, there was nothing in my contract that said: 'Your life will be talked about',” she said.

“It got to the point where I realised so much of my life was out there. People knew my mum's name, my dad's name, what my sisters do for a living.

“And I thought it would be nice to have something that's for me, that isn't for everybody else. I just thought I would keep that separate.”

The full feature will be available in the February issue of Tatler, from Monday 4 January.

Chaos Walking completed filming in 2017 but was forced to wait years in order to complete reshoots due to the franchise schedules of Ridley and Holland. 

Ridley said earlier this year that she struggled to find work after Star Wars, claiming “no one wanted to employ me”.

Additional reporting by Press Association