The Big Picture

Daisy Ridley discusses her role in The Marsh King’s Daughter and her excitement for the film, highlighting the pride she feels in her work. Ridley also talks about her experience working with Ben Mendelsohn in The Marsh King’s Daughter. She teases her return as Rey in a new Star Wars film, set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker.

In her newest film, The Marsh King’s Daughter, Daisy Ridley plays a woman trying to rebuild her life after escaping a life of captivity in the wilderness with her criminal father (Ben Mendelsohn). Based on the 2017 novel by Karen Dionne, the film also stars Garrett Hedlund and is available to watch on digital now. The film is just one of many upcoming projects for Ridley, including Sundance darling Sometimes I Think About Dying, and her upcoming film festival entry Magpie, as well as her highly-publicized return to the galaxy far, far away in an upcoming Rey-centric Star Wars movie.

In this 1-on-1 interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Ridley talks about what drew her to The Marsh King’s Daughter, and the experience of working with Mendelsohn. She also teases her return to Star Wars, and learns about the surprising number of Reylo-inspired stories on the New York Times Bestseller list.

COLLIDER: If someone has actually never seen anything you’ve done before, what is the first thing you’d like them watching, and why?

DAISY RIDLEY: Oh my God, that’s so hard. At this current moment, it would be Magpie because I made it, and I’m very proud of it — not that I’m not proud of other stuff — but in recent history, it’s a proud moment.

Do you feel like you post too much on Instagram?

RIDLEY: No, I feel like I’m a lurker, because I like looking at what other people are doing, but I fucking don’t know how it all really works. So, no.

Yeah, I do notice you like some of my posts, but you don’t post anything.

RIDLEY: Well, I get the fear, you know? When you don’t do it that much, then I’m like, “oh my God, how do you do this?” I’m just finding my way into being a person who doesn’t just creepily like people’s things.

Image via Lionsgate

What do you remember about playing Roxy on Mr. Selfridge, and do you think it was that role that got you Star Wars?

RIDLEY: Oh my God, Steve, fun story. When I was filming Chaos Walking, I had to be in New York the next day. So I took a car instead of the plane, and the driver, poor man, ran out of gas. We were in the middle of fucking nowhere, on the side of the road. It was so intense. And I saw he was texting someone, and someone said about me being a VIP or something. It was so cringe worthy. And he asked me about Mr. Selfridge, and I was like, “oh my God,” because I could see he’d googled me, and it was like, “oh my God.” It was so cringe. And I can’t even believe I just told the story.

What do I remember about playing [Roxy]? I remember I was so terrified, that I had a really good time, and then they brought me back for a second day, and I couldn’t believe I had two days filming.

So one of the things about being in Star Wars is you got to travel the world on Disney’s dime. What city or place that you visited would you love to go back to tomorrow, and why?

RIDLEY: Japan. Because I think it’s the most amazing place. And whenever I go, I’m like, “wow, this is extraordinary.” The food, the people, everything. I would love to see more of it. But Japan, yeah.

I agree with you. Tokyo and Iceland are the two places that, like, you’re on a different planet.

RIDLEY: I’ve never been to Iceland, but I would love to go to Iceland.

You absolutely should go. So jumping into why I get to talk to you. What was it about [The Marsh King’s Daughter] that said “Yeah, I need to do this”?

RIDLEY: I read the script, and by this time the world had been shut down for a few months, and I hadn’t really worked in a while. The Rise of Skywalker had come out several months before. I was so thrilled to be reading something anyway, because it was such a strange time for everyone. And I literally devoured the script and desperately wanted to play it. I just thought it was really interesting. I hadn’t played American at that time, so that was very exciting. I thought the concept was great. The book is actually darker than the film. But the book is fantastic. I mean, I would say the book is a bit darker. I really wanted to do it, and I was very thrilled that it all worked out.

Image via Lionsgate

Your character gets to have tattoos, and I’m just curious, I know you were filming in the wilderness, but did you get to leave set at all with the tattoos? And did you get to enjoy that experience of really not looking like yourself in public?

RIDLEY: Well, it was very locked down in Toronto. So, I mean, there wasn’t much public-ness happening anyway. It was fun to look different, yeah, particularly the neck one. I really like to look as different as I can for things, anyway. So it was really cool. And to do something sort of rugged, you know, the house and the life that Helena builds, and then the life that she is drawn back to, those two big different feelings, it was a very compelling thing to be able to do all of that.

Neil [Burger] told me you guys made the movie in 37 days and filmed in these crazy remote locations. At what point of the shoot were you like “What did I get myself into?”

RIDLEY: I think someone might have talked about when we had to drive for like an hour, and then get a boat for 45 minutes, and then we had to hike, and walking 20 minutes back to a toilet. When you’re in a rush, and you’re doing the next scene, and you’re like, “oh my God, I really have to pee.” Probably then.

What was it like though? Because you’ve worked on all sorts of projects. Huge budget, low budget. Is there one that you enjoy more than the other, or is it the variety that you enjoy the most?

RIDLEY: I did Sometimes I Think About Dying right after The Marsh King’s Daughter. Even that was a huge leap from the budget we had on The Marsh King’s Daughter to the budget we had on Sometimes I Think About Dying. I don’t know that I have a preference, because I started in the big thing, and people refer to “the machine,” but I never felt that I was in a machine. I try to find the good in things, and usually I’m surrounded by really good people.

So, as long as I have food, and good people, and the promise of working with really cool actors, I know that sounds like a sort of ridiculous middle ground answer, but it’s really true. And another one of the reasons I really wanted to do The Marsh King’s Daughter is, I’m a huge fan of Ben Mendelsohn. So getting to work with him on this was just fucking amazing.

Image via Lionsgate

My next question was about Ben. I am also a huge fan of his work. He’s so talented. What is it actually like to work opposite him? Because every actor I’ve spoken to talks about how everyone has a different process. Some might be silent and moody before the take, and others are just jovial and making jokes. So what is Ben like in between takes, and is it similar to the way you like to work?

RIDLEY: I would say me and Ben have a similar thing, we’re both pretty jovial. He comes to set with his boom box and baas like a goat at people, because that’s just what Ben does. Genuinely, the moment we see each other for the first time in the film, I actually had goose bumps on my arms. There’s something about him that’s so visceral, there’s this danger that he brought with Marsh King’s Daughter, but he’s just this gorgeous man with all of these complexities, and he just taps into it the minute the cameras start rolling. But then in between takes, we’re both chilling out.

We were literally filming in a raging river, when it’s like a very intense moment of the film, and he says this isn’t true, but literally, after a take he goes “oh my God, Daise, I forgot we were in a film,” and I was lying in a raging river. So that sort of sums him up. But the minute the camera’s on, it’s just there.

One of the things when you are adapting a popular book, I asked this of Neil, is that there’s gonna be fans of the book no matter what you do in the movie, that are just not down with the movie. So do you sort of accept, when you’re making a film based on a book, that you can’t please everyone? Do you know that going in? What’s that attitude?

RIDLEY: Yes, I would say you go in knowing that. But also as someone who is a huge fan of things like Harry Potter, both the books and the films, I’m quite open to it. I feel less pressured in that way because I think there are just benefits in both things, even though it’s so difficult to adapt a book. And I feel what was done with The Marsh King’s Daughter served the book well. I didn’t worry about it in this instance, because I think what the film is represents what the book is.

I have a great team of editors at Collider, and they wanted me to ask this question. Has anyone told you about how many New York Times Bestsellers were inspired by Rey and Ben? And do you have a favorite?

RIDLEY: I don’t know a single answer to that question. New York Times Bestsellers?

Yeah. I haven’t read any of these, but apparently they use the Rey and Ben [dynamic], and they have written books. And the women at Collider recommended The Love Hypothesis and The Hurricane Wars.

RIDLEY: Wow. I didn’t know that. I mean, how many books are there, on the New York Times Bestseller list?

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Here’s the thing, I don’t actually know the specifics, but it might be a special list for Rey and Ben, I don’t 100% know, but it means a lot to a lot of people, is what I’m telling you.

RIDLEY: OK. I fully thought you knew, and I was like, “oh my God, what’s this number gonna be?” I mean, honestly, for anyone to just write a book is so impressive, let alone a New York Times bestseller, let alone something inspired by something I was part of. That’s very thrilling. So, thank you, if anyone’s reading this.

I think someone will read this and be very happy.

RIDLEY: Yeah. So thank you, whoever wrote The Love Hypothesis and The Hurricane Wars. Wow. Fucking cool.

Obviously, because I’m talking to you and everyone wants to know, do you have any sort of update on Star Wars and are you over the moon that they announced something with you?

RIDLEY: But I will tell you, Steve, when I saw you in Park City, I had not been approached. I was asked some, not by you, but I was asked something when I was there and strangely, people were asking me stuff and I was like, “No, I’m not doing another one.”

Then it all happened after I came back. It was such a nice reception. I was shitting myself before I went on stage, because no one knew I was going to that. No one knew I was going to Celebration, bar like Kathy [Kennedy] and there were like a couple of people. I was so nervous. Oh my God. It was such a wonderful reception. I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script, because obviously. I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.

I’m of the opinion that the next Star Wars movie, I’m hoping, is gonna be a trilogy. Do you know anything like that,? Have they told you the storyline, and you’re like, “oh, this is good.”

RIDLEY: I know the storyline for one film, that’s not to say that that’s all it is, but that’s what I was told about. And I imagine it will be the next film, I think. I mean, again, I don’t know, post strikes and everything, how quickly everything will start up again. But yes, so far, I know the story of one film and I think people will be very excited.

Image via Walt Disney Pictures

I’ll switch off Star Wars. So, what are you actually filming? Do you know what you’re filming next year? I think you’re probably filming something right now, the one with Martin Campbell?

RIDLEY: Yes. So I’m filming a Martin Campbell movie right now, and I’m exhausted, which is why I probably seem like I am not me. He is a fucking amazing director. Very exciting. So I’m in the midst of that, which we wrap before Christmas.

Then I’m going to Western Australia to do a film with Zak Hildich. I’m very excited about that. And then I’m not sure. There are a few little bitties and bobs happening, but I don’t know beyond April because everyone’s getting everything together now, aren’t they? So, we’ll see.

What’s the name of the film in Western Australia?

RIDLEY: It’s called We Buried the Dead, and it’s like a zombie-ish feeling, but it’s also a meditation on grief and a journey, and going back to come forward. It’s really beautiful and very moving, and scary, and it’s lots of things in one. I’m really looking forward to it.

I definitely want to bring up Magpie with you. Is there any chance that it is going to be at Sundance this year?

RIDLEY: There is not a chance it will be at Sundance, but there is a chance it will be somewhere else. It was so crazy when I saw you, I literally flew back, and we started filming on the Monday. It was insane. We filmed it, and we are so thrilled. I fucking love that movie. So it’s all finished. Everything’s done. Amazing score, all the sound, everything’s done. Very excited to share it, probably in the next few months.

Image via Oscilloscope

Are you releasing a trailer? Was it bought or is the movie for sale?

RIDLEY: It’s for sale.

So you’re not releasing anything until it plays at a film festival?

RIDLEY: Yes, exactly.

I was gonna ask you about Young Woman and the Sea, hopefully I’ll see that soon as well.

RIDLEY: Young Woman and the Sea is also coming. That might be something that’s taking up some part of next year. But I saw the finished, finished cut a few weeks ago. I do feel so lucky that even this year, with the things sort of starting to come out now, I’ve got the chance to do such different stuff in the past few years. I feel genuinely, really fucking lucky and I’m really happy to be able to start sharing things. So I’m very excited for Young Woman and the Sea too.

The Marsh King’s Daughter is available to watch on digital now.

The Marsh King’s Daughter A woman seeks revenge against the man who kidnapped her mother. Release Date November 3, 2023 Director Neil Burger Cast Ben Mendelsohn, Daisy Ridley, Gil Birmingham, Brooklynn Prince Rating R Runtime 108 minutes Main Genre Drama Genres Crime, Drama, Mystery Production Company Black Bear Pictures, Anonymous Content
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