Page 38 - Provoke Magazine Vol4

Luck wasn’t the only factor, though. Ridley is deter- mined, hardworking, and seemingly able to overcome any obstacle life throws her way. Despite struggling with endometriosis (a painful pelvic tissue disorder) since her teenage years, Ridley remains upbeat and positive about life. Her work ethic is, as you might ex- pect, hardcore. In preparation for The Force Awakens, she had an insane workout regimen that included five- hour workouts, five days a week, for three months. This workout was not your ordinary trip to the gym— Rid- ley took kickboxing lessons, went rock climbing, and learned how to wield a sword and fight with it. To tone her muscles, Ridley also went through hours of chest presses and deadlifts to get into shape. On top of that, she also had to practice for stunts and completely re- vamp her diet. Gone were the fatty meats and carbohy- drates of her pre-Star Wars days; instead, Ridley started eating more fish, legumes, and protein shakes. An in- credible learner, she often replicates complicated battle sequences or choreography in a fraction of the time it takes the average person.
Although her life may seem fantastic, Ridley says it isn’t so different from everyone else’s: “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.” And once you look past the designer Chloé outfits and Oscar de la Renta dresses, Ridley started out like any other. She went to drama school and waited for her big break— or rather, worked to make it happen. She was sacked a few times early on. Her first job was at a workshop for a short film, describing an experience at a strip club, and after only one week she was told not to come back. But like any- one else, she got back on her feet. The jobs that followed were small roles, here and there. She was in a supermar- ket commercial, then in a music video. Once she made it, life in Hollywood was also so stressful at one point that it caused serious health issues for her. According to Daisy, she was so wound up that her gut wall “literally had holes in it.” That’s led to her keeping a very private personal life, where she can be the fidgety, tattooed, foul-mouthed Arsenal fan instead of Rey. Hardly your average space princess.
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