- [About where she grew up] London. And somebody did ask me if me and John [Boyega] got on because we're from the same place. We're not from the same place. He's from South London, I'm from West.
- [About the Star Wars Celebration event] I didn't think of it like that until dinner last night when somebody mentioned how many people might be watching. It was so cool to be part of a film that is loved so much, and then to be able to launch in that sphere with just fans and people who love what we're doing and are so excited about what's going to come in December, that was the best way to come out, as it were.
- [About her family] I've got sisters. I'm the youngest of actually five. We have been watching the movies again, and my middle sister is super excited. Last year when we were filming, everyone came round and we had dinner and watched Episode IV, A New Hope, which was super cool.
- [on her favourite location while filming Star Wars: The Force Awakens] Weirdly enough, probably Abu Dhabi, even though it was so hot, it was like you literally can't imagine that heat. The feeling of stepping onto a real set for the first time, it genuinely was a baptism of fire. To see creatures walking around and speeders chilling in the sand, that was amazing, and because I was shooting there, it was like everything had built up to that moment. So a few days in, I was like, OK. I'm getting my groove now.
- My great uncle was in Dad's Army (1968). And I don't know if Americans will know that. It was a hugely popular show in England. They're redoing it as a film. Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore [in the Harry Potter movies], is playing who my great uncle played. Both my parents are creative. My dad did act when he was younger, but they're both very creative." [...] "My mum works in internal communications at a bank, and my dad's a photographer.
- [About her video reel being deleted] That was actually me! I wanted it to be so people could just concentrate on this. I'm so proud of what I've done before, but I wanted it to feel fresh. Which is what I think everyone else wanted, because everyone wanted just to see me as Rey and not as the people I've played before, even though the jobs I've done before are amazing and obviously led me to this incredible point. So here I am.
- I went to a school called Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. I went because initially I was very naughty, and my mom thought if I was busy, I'd be better. And I didn't really do acting until later on in the school, with an amazing teacher. I left, went traveling, came back. And then it all kind of went from there.
- [on auditioning for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)) I had heard about the role quite a while before I auditioned, and I emailed my agent that I have this really weird feeling; I really feel like I need to audition. Then months went by and the same people were reading for it. But I still really had this feeling of needing to read for it. So I emailed my agent again for an audition. I had four or five auditions over seven months, and it was a very emotional time. My first few auditions really didn't feel good, but my last audition suddenly felt like something clicked. You're so desperate to get a role, but I felt like even if I didn't get it, I did a good job, I'd done myself proud.
- What we've seen of Rey, she looks like she can handle her stuff. So most of the comments I get are from parents who say how wonderful it is that their little girls can see this character.
- The thing about Star Wars is that every single person is important. Even though Rey is a big role, everyone influences everyone. If that wasn't so, why would so many people remember Admiral Ackbar?
- Sadly, people think a guy and a girl can't be friends without something romantic going on.
- Rey is so strong. She's cool and smart and she can look after herself. Young girls can look at her and know that they can wear trousers if they want to. That they don't have to show off their bodies.
- I love Felicity Jones. It was funny because I went to go see the 'Rogue One' set, and I was like, 'Oh my God, I love you.' And she's so tiny, and elegant, and she's just so small. Everyone's so much smaller than they seem.
- Your life goes on, and then your life goes on plus 'Star Wars'. It's just been an incredible time.
- When I feel comfortable, I just like to sing and hum, and I don't even know I'm doing it. But sometimes someone will come over to me like, 'I love that song you were singing, but it's distracting.'
- I can knit quite well. I make really long scarves.
- I don't know if I can prepare for what's to come because I don't know what will.
- Hope makes people good, a lot of the time. You hope for a brighter future, and resentment is outweighed.
- I actually wanted to be a zookeeper when I was 5.
- It's one thing for other people to see potential in you, and it's quite another for you to understand that and see it in yourself.
- I auditioned for this agency. I got an advertisement first, and then something else, which I got fired from. It was soul-destroying. And then the next thing I got, I thought was going to be my big break, and they cut the role. It was only the year that I started auditioning for 'Star Wars' when I really started getting roles.
- [August 2014; while doing the Ice Bucket Challenge] May the icy Force be with you.
- Both my parents are creative. My dad did act when he was younger, but they're both very creative.
- I was actually sacked from my first job. It was at a workshop for a short film this poet had written, about when she used to work in a strip club. After the first week, I was told not to come back.
- I've never been one for crushing on famous people.
- So many people look up to Jennifer Lawrence playing Katniss in 'The Hunger Games.' For them to look up to Rey and what she represents would be fantastic. She's a wonderful character... The reason I love her so much is she does all the fun stuff. She fights, runs and protects herself and has an incredible emotional story.
- Carey Mulligan and Felicity Jones are two of my favorites. I'm not so much younger than them. I like that. It's kind of aspirational.
- [on her wish of appearing in a musical] Singing in front of people is terrifying, but I'm ready for that.
- To any of you who are suffering with anything, go to a doctor; pay for a specialist; get your hormones tested, get allergy testing; keep on top of how your body is feeling and don't worry about sounding like a hypochondriac. From your head to the tips of your toes we only have one body, let us all make sure ours are working in tip top condition, and take help if it's needed.
- I love to come to L.A. to visit, and then I like to come to rainy old London because it's home.
- I liked Star Wars, but I wasn't an uberfan like many people are.
- I was kind of loathe to go on social media. I find the trolling unacceptable, and I never wanted to look like I was someone who would accept that.
- I wasn't trying to fit into a thing... it was not like I was like, 'Right, I'm the Han; I'm the Leia; I'm the Luke.' I was just like, 'Okay, I'm Rey, just trying to do me, just trying to do this scene, trying to do the right thing,' and I think that was a huge advantage because I think if not, it would've been a very different thing.
- [on the possibility to return to Star Wars in the future] I mean, never say never... I'm always open to a revisit. But also the beautiful thing is it's this wonderful, huge universe with all of these stories that have yet to be told. I think there's a lot of cool things to be made before any potential revisit... In terms of revisiting the character, I think that's a bye-bye for now.
- [on the possibility of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe] Basically, should something come along and be great, of course I'd be open to anything. I just finished WandaVision. What they did with it is so amazing and different and interesting. To be particularly in that world, which is ever shifting and reimagining itself would be very exciting.
- [on the Spider-Woman rumours] Well, it's funny because someone asked me off the cuff about the Spider-Woman rumours recently, and I went, 'Oh, that sounds great.' Apparently, I've now declared myself a frontrunner to be Spider-Woman which isn't true!
- [on meeting Harrison Ford for the first time] I said: 'Oh my God! My mum loves you!' and he was like: 'Really?' And I realised it was something that made him feel older.
- [on Emma Watson] She's doing amazing things... and I am not... I would love to be able to do so many other things as well, but I'd love to have a great career as an actress.
- The trend for documentaries will never go away, because everybody wants to learn about the world. The world is awful in parts, but there's always going to be brilliant documentaries about it, and there's always going to be people who want to see them.
- My film knowledge is pretty shocking. I'm trying to correct that.
- I had an assistant for a hot minute, because that was offered to me. And literally, after a day I was like, "I don't like this. I don't like someone else making the decisions that I should be making." I'm very busy, yes, but I'm not so busy that I can't make my own decisions. I want people to contact me directly about what time I'm being picked up in the morning.
- People can get a bit like, "Oh my God, your life is different than mine." But no, it's not. Everyone's got the same problems. We all get jobs, and we lose them. We have a good time, and we don't have a good time. It's changed in that some people have a certain expectation of what they might find when they meet me, which sucks, because I'm not that thing.
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