Is Daisy Ridley up for a charity swim, FOR REAL?

ODE

The Star Wars star returns to screens in channel-swimming heart warmer, Young Woman and the Sea. Report by Nelsonj. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Transcript

00:00 Hello!

00:01 Hello.

00:02 I tell you what, Young Woman and the Sea, I love these kind of movies because to me

00:04 they're very much like a Sunday afternoon movie.

00:07 Like Chariots of Fire, Escape to Victory, Fly Away Home, Goonies.

00:13 Those sort of like, that's what this took me as.

00:16 And you don't seem to see as many of those anymore.

00:19 When you made it, when you were going through the script and stuff like that, was that what

00:22 you had in mind, kind of just this is a wholesome, sit around with the family, weekend movie?

00:27 It's funny, I don't know that I, I think it's one of those things where you read something

00:32 and it's your experience and how you feel about the thing.

00:34 And then as it takes form and you realise what it might be.

00:38 I remember, I just loved the script anyway.

00:40 I loved Geoff Nathanson.

00:42 I met Joachim, loved Joachim.

00:43 The whole team I was so thrilled to work with.

00:46 And I loved the script, just as loving the script.

00:49 And then knowing that it was about a real woman, that's amazing too.

00:53 And then I remember Geoff saying as we were filming, you just love this family.

00:57 He said, watching the rushes even, you just want to spend time with this family.

01:01 So as we were filming and then as we've been discussing it, it really feels like something

01:05 that's hitting that sweet spot for people.

01:09 It's a family movie.

01:10 It's a film about triumphing over adversity and defying the odds.

01:15 But also it's a movie about family and sisters and parents and someone doing something magnificent

01:22 alone, but also the support team they have.

01:24 So it feels like it just feels good.

01:28 And a lot of people have said how good they feel at the end of it, which is great.

01:32 Maybe that's the thing, when you're feeling good and you feel safe and you feel part of

01:35 the family, it reminds you of times when you were with your family and watching these kind

01:39 of movies.

01:40 And that's why I guess it took me to growing up in those afternoons when it's raining and

01:44 you want something to stick to the TV too.

01:47 You must be buzzing as an actor when, you read a lot of scripts and get a lot of different

01:50 stories, but when you hear something that seems very unique and the big parade you get

01:54 at the end, which obviously really happened, and you think, why haven't I seen this more

01:59 before?

02:01 Was that part of the excitement going, wow, this is a real thing?

02:04 And it's, check your notes, it's not been covered a thousand times already.

02:08 It certainly was.

02:09 I just couldn't believe that I didn't know of her.

02:13 And then the ticker tape parade, when you actually see the real footage, it's even our

02:17 film you think, oh, that's an exaggeration.

02:20 And you see the ticker tape parade, it's just not an exaggeration.

02:24 So that is just wonderful.

02:27 And the fact that we're really introducing her to people that don't know about her is

02:31 great, but also personally playing her, playing resilience and determination and loving something

02:39 just for the love of it is so wonderful.

02:42 And then that's growing and that's changing throughout the film.

02:45 So I felt acting wise, I had so many places to go because each new challenge is something

02:52 else to be overcome in a different way, whether that's the fracture between her and her sister

02:58 who love each other so much, but figuring out how in this new world when Trudy's at

03:02 her lowest and Meg's at her lowest, how are they navigating that together?

03:05 There was so much to dig into and the swim is real and Trudy was real, but there is limited

03:11 information about her.

03:12 So getting to have creative license about those relationships around her and how they

03:16 might have really felt in the day to day is wonderful.

03:20 Kind of challenging.

03:21 I mean, unless it's CGI putting Star Wars to shame, I'm guessing you spent a lot of

03:25 time in open water for this, which absolutely terrifies me.

03:29 Is that something you're actually, was that something you were into and for years you're

03:32 thinking, I can't wait to get a movie where I can swim a lot?

03:34 Or is this something where you just had to spend hours and hours swallowing salt water

03:38 for this?

03:39 I had to spend hours and hours swimming in pools.

03:43 It was actually, there had been a storm out to sea in the Black Sea, so we actually weren't

03:48 able to train in the sea until I got to the sea because it was dangerous to swim in those

03:53 conditions.

03:54 It was scary and it was overwhelming and each time you do something you think, okay, a bit

04:01 of the swim's done and then I get out and get warm and get dry and then you have to

04:04 get back in over and over and over and over again for days and days and days at a time.

04:08 So really it was as much, I mean, I did all of the physical training for three months

04:12 and all of the supplementary training when we were filming, but the mental hurdle was

04:17 really something to overcome because I do not like open water.

04:22 I don't go in the sea beyond where I can see the floor.

04:25 That is something that is deeply uncomfortable to me.

04:28 And each time, I mean, I would go back to the support boat and have all my panics, but

04:32 then getting there, there was no way I was going to interrupt filming with it, but certainly

04:35 there was a lot I had to squash to play someone who loved it.

04:40 Unlikely we're going to see you signing up for a charity swim again across the actual

04:43 English channel.

04:44 Yeah, no, I mean a couple lengths.

04:46 A couple of lengths, that's fine.

04:47 And I'll sponsor people.

04:48 Oh yeah, you could do that.

04:50 Not me, I'm absolutely terrified of it, but if I see anyone out in the back, I'll send

04:54 them.

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