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Carrie Fisher Offers Advice To New 'Star Wars' Star: 'Don't Be A Slave Like I Was'
Daisy Ridley (center) with her 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' co-stars John Boyega (left) and Oscar Isaac (right) at Comic-Con. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
With the forthcoming Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, bound to make its young cast instant stars, Carrie Fisher offered some sage advice to the film's lead, Daisy Ridley."You should fight for your outfit," Fisher, who plays Princess Leia in the original trilogy and the new film, told Ridley in their chat for Interview Magazine. "Don't be a slave like I was," she continued, referencing the gold bikini she wore as Jabba the Hutt's slave in Return Of The Jedi. Fisher became an instant star after the success of the original trilogy—and the object of fanboy fantasies.
While fame comes with its perks, it can take on a weird and uneasy dimension when you're a woman. "It's hard to date once you're a big Star Wars star because you don't want to give people the ability to say, 'I had sex with Princess Leia,'" said Fisher.
"You're going to have people have fantasies about you! That will make you uncomfortable, I'm guessing."
Ridley, who was fresh off a press tour in Berlin right before her chat with Fisher, said the press bombarded her with questions about becoming a sex symbol, much like her Star Wars predecessor. "They always talk about how you're a sex symbol, and how do I feel about that," she said.
"Listen! I am not a sex symbol, so that's an opinion of someone. I don't share that," replied Fisher.
With much of The Force Awakens' plot still shrouded in secrecy, little is known about Ridley's character, Rey, aside from what's in the trailers. She's a scavenger on a desert planet, and at a Star Wars Celebration panel Ridley said, "She's completely self-sufficient and does everything for herself, until she meets another character and an adventure begins."
Despite the creep-factor that comes with being a famous woman on the big screen, the fans can apparently still be a wonderful part of the experience. "The fan thing is amazing!" said Fisher. "It's quite a spectrum."
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"I remember you saying that when you take pictures with people, you can feel their heart racing, and it humanizes them," Ridley recalled.
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