‘The physicality is so taxing’: Daisy Ridley on ‘Cleaner’, swearing, and facing a fear of heights
As a Star Wars alum, Daisy Ridley is no stranger to being up in the air in one way or another. Her new film Cleaner finds her as an ex-soldier working as a window washer who must save a group of hostages before it’s too late.
The Mary Sue sat down with Ridley recently to discuss the film, going into detail about gelling with your co-workers, working past a fear of heights, and how physical it all is.
“I really don’t like heights,” Ridley said. “But I had prep time physically, which I always find to be really helpful,” she continued when asked how physicality goes into building a character. “In a way, emotionally, it’s very comforting, because you get so used to the people you’re working with…I felt comfortable in that zone emotionally.”
Ridley’s reveal of her own fear of heights is a far cry from her costar Taz Skylar, who The Mary Sue also sat down with.
“I’m quite a fan of heights, I love jumping out of planes,” he said gleefully, responding to a question about if he had the same fear as Ridley for a stunt. “If anything I was kind of bummed I didn’t get to hang out of the building more.”
However, Skylar does have the utmost respect for his costar.
“I respect what she’s done, I respect how hard she works,” he said.
“There always has to be a reason behind it.”
Beyond hanging outside of buildings, Ridley loved the, ahem, colorful language her character is fond of using, saying, “I feel she’s very–I’m not like that, but I like that she’s super scrappy.” Ridley got to the meat of her character and her complexities, adding, “There was so much to play with, but for the most part I love that she was foul-mouthed.”
Some of the swearing had to be taken out because it was “so intense,” according to Ripley. “But swearing is fun,” she added. (So true.) Ridley ends by saying that “But also, I feel like it was some amazing director who said that there always has to be a reason behind it, and she’s just trying to express herself.”
Cleaner hits theatres February 21, 2025.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
