It wasn't until well into the movie that we got to see Rey display some serious Jedi skills in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, particularly noteworthy of which was when she pushes back Kylo Ren when he tried to get into her head.
Did that scene leave quite an impression on you? Apparently it did too with J.J. Abrams, who decided to cast Daisy Ridley for the part after she read for that scene. In an exclusive clip, Buzzfeed shared a snippet of the torture scene between Rey and Kylo Ren that Ridley read for, showing just how awesome the actress was.
According to Abrams, they were looking for someone new, a character that was "vulnerable and tough, sweet and terrified." Not surprisingly, they had a hard time looking for someone who could show all of that, to the point that they felt like they were running out of time.
Fortunately, they had casting directors like Nina Gold, April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg, who co-producer Michelle Rejwan said did an incredible amount of work to find someone that nobody knew, but could encompass all of what Abrams was looking for in Rey.
"It wasn't until we found Daisy that we just felt like she was capable of doing all of these things this character required," said the director.
Abrams recounted that Ridley blew his mind when she read for the scene. She had tears streaming down her face while she was reaching a depth of struggle and Abrams simply thought it was unbelievable. More so, when he asked her to stop and make a couple of adjustments, she just put on a great performance again.
Watch the Ridley reading for Abrams below!
Before The Force Awakens, Ridley had her start in roles for TV series like Casualty, Youngers, Toast of London, Silent Witness and Mr. Selfridge. She's currently in production for Star Wars VIII and also lent her voice to the English dub for Studio Ghibli's Only Yesterday, giving life to Taeko Okajima.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be available on Blu-ray starting April 5. Preorders before April 4 will include an exclusive lithograph set, while supplies last.
