KUALA LUMPUR: British actress Daisy Ridley's big break, playing the young Jedi Rey in the final Star Wars trilogy from 2015 to 2019, coincided with her going "off social media".
This actually paid off, for her final Star Wars film, The Rise Of Skywalker in 2019 was criticised by fans of the films, and did worse at the box office than its predecessors, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
Australian entertainment website News.com.au reported today that Ridley actually quit social media before the first film in the trilogy, The Force Awakens, was screened in 2015.
It had nothing to do with her being unable to handle brickbats from Star Wars fans, especially those who did not like the idea of a new trilogy set after the events of the first six films.
She said: "No, it wasn't because I wanted to avoid criticisms from viewers. I just thought that it wasn't for me. Some people do it well, but I don't have much to say."
Ridley added: "There's a lot of pressure when we're on social media, people can be very difficult. My co-star John Boyega handles things amazingly well, but not me."
However Ridley, 28, enjoyed every bit of her Star Wars experience.
"I feel wonderful about it. It felt like sort of growing up," she said.
"I was surrounded by incredible people. I loved everyone I worked with and had the most amazing time."
Ridley said that being cast as Rey, the protege of Jedi master Luke Skywalker would always be a moment to cherish.
"I will always think of it fondly. I am really good friends with Mark Hamill, who played Luke, and John Boyega, who played Finn."
Ridley is looking forward to a film she shot four years ago, Chaos Walking, in which she stars alongside Spider-Man actor Tom Holland.
It is based on the science-fiction book trilogy of the same name.
"It's great working with Tom. He deals with stardom a lot better than me, because I'm quite shy and a bit flustered when people come over to me. He's younger than me by four years but he seems older because he deals with it really well."
Another film she will appear in is Young Woman And The Sea, a biopic of Gertrude Ederle, the former Olympic gold medallist who in 1926 became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
"It's an amazing story. What she did was unbelievable. She accomplished the biggest feat for a returning athlete, and it changed the face of women's sport."