Daisy Ridley’s intense training for new movie had her “lips turning blue”
DisneyThe director of an inspirational new movie starring Daisy Ridley has opened up about the star’s intense training regime that had her “lips turning blue.”
While fans might recognize Ridley as Rey in the Star Wars sequel movie trilogy, the actress has appeared in a number of titles since then, her latest being Young Woman and the Sea.
Based on Glenn Stout’s 2009 book of the same name, the Disney biopic centers on the true story of Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle, an athlete who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926.
Ridley takes on the lead role in the new movie, with her swimming scenes filmed in actual open waters in the Black Sea (yo ho… if you know, you know).
Dexerto caught up with Young Woman and the Sea director Joachim Ronning, who discussed Ridley’s intense preparation for the film. “I knew that this was gonna be a very physical role. I was very clear on that,” he told us.
“I wanted to film out on the ocean, and Daisy Ridley said, ‘Yeah, absolutely. Let’s honor Trudy as real as we can.’ And she didn’t tell me this beforehand, but she’s actually scared of open water swimming — that I learned later.
“What she did was she trained for months and months in open water swimming. And so, when we got out there, she was just amazing to work with. She was in 15-16 degrees water, her lips were turning blue.
“I felt so lucky to be doing this with her. Obviously I’m on the boat in a jacket and I’m seeing her in the water without a wetsuit because she’s in a bikini. Basically, she just got on with it — there were the currents and the weather and the elements and the propellers everywhere.
“It was stressful, but I hope in some way that the audience can feel that we did make it as real as we could.”
Young Woman and the Sea is in cinemas now. You can also check out the highest-grossing movies of all time and the best movies of 2024 so far. While if it’s Star Wars you’re into, here are all the TV shows and movies in development.