Ever wondered what it was about Daisy Ridley that persuaded 'Star Wars' director JJ Abrams to take a punt, and cast a relative unknown at the centre of his billion-dollar phenomenon?
Well, the explanation has arrived, in the form of the British actress's audition tape for the role of desert scavenger Rey in the first instalment of the rebooted 'Star Wars' franchise.
The 23-year-old British actress was asked to perform a particularly intense scene as part of this very first audition - see above - and she blew all others out of the park, even crying on cue when the occasion demanded.
And director JJ Abrams was very impressed, saying later: "I asked her to do this torture scene, very intense, and she just blew my mind. She’s reaching this depth of struggle, tears are streaming down her face, I thought, this is unbelievable."
The actress has had her own fairytale ending, with the first film taking more than $2billion at the box office, and both Daisy and her British co-star John Boyega picking up awards for their performances, and becoming household names.
When John collected his Empire Magazine Best Male Newcomer Award a fortnight ago, he jokingly called out to JJ, "Don't ever make me wait seven months for a role again." He obviously didn't cry enough.
