20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: The Force Awakens
9. J.J. Abrams Called Daisy Ridley's Performance "Wooden" On Her First Day
The first day on set for the new Star Wars leads must've been absolutely terrifying, especially for lesser-known actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. And in Ridley's case, any first-day jitters were made worse by J.J. Abrams' blunt criticism of her acting chops. She said in an interview with Glamour:
"JJ… probably doesn't remember telling me that my performance was wooden. This was the first day! And I honestly wanted to die... I thought I was gonna cry... I couldn't breathe. And there was so many crew there, because obviously all the creatures [had stand-ins], and there were loads of extra crew making sure everyone was safe because it was so hot. It was awful."
Thankfully whatever wasn't working about Ridley's performance was quickly ironed out, as she went on to receive considerable praise for her turn once the movie hit screens worldwide.