Daisy Ridley has opened up about her experiences of sexism on set and how it still feels ‘deeply uncomfortable’ to confront it.
The Star Wars actress, 32, has reflected on her experiences on another project – which she hasn’t named – when she noticed she was being treated differently to one of her male co-stars.
Appearing on Tuesday’s episode of the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, she recalled a day on set where she noticed a stark difference between how she was treated compared to her male co-star by a stuntman.
‘I did a job and I was doing something physical in the same way that the male character was doing something physical,’ she said.
‘And one of the stunt team was coming over to pat the man on the back and it got to a point where I said, “Are you not gonna do the high fives and all the stuff to me?”‘
Daisy Ridley opened up about her experiences of sexism on set and how it still feels ‘deeply uncomfortable’ to confront it while appearing on Tuesday’s episode of the Reign with Josh Smith podcast
The Star Wars actress, 32, has reflected on her experiences on another project – which she hasn’t named – when she noticed she was being treated differently to one of her male co-stars (Daisy pictured in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
Daisy said the stuntman was ‘really thrown’ by her comment.
She said: ‘I think it was really difficult for him because it was not badly intended he was just… they were doing the “The male thing” that they’re comfortable doing and that didn’t include me even though I was doing exactly the same thing as the man that he was congratulating.
‘Then of course it’s deeply uncomfortable because when you do speak up, the person that’s speaking up feels really uncomfortable.’
The Young Woman and the Sea actress described the behaviour as something that was ‘learnt’, while she was disappointed the person in question didn’t apologise for his actions.
She added: ‘It’s behaviour that’s learnt… it was just one of those things that I really, really noticed because it happened again and again.
‘And then when I said it to the person – I think being able to apologise is really important.
‘If you do speak up for something, it takes a lot of bravery for the other person to say, “I’m really sorry. I actually did not realise I was doing that. I see you both in the same way,” and the person couldn’t do that.
‘But you know, maybe on the next job he does, which would be great.’
Daisy recalled a day on set where she noticed a stark difference between how she was treated compared to her male co-star by a stuntman (Pictured in May)
‘I did a job and I was doing something physical in the same way that the male character was doing something physical,’ she said (Pictured in Murder On The Orient Express)
The Young Woman and the Sea actress described the behaviour as something that was ‘learnt’, while she was disappointed the person in question didn’t apologise for his actions (Pictured in March)
She added: ‘It’s behaviour that’s learnt… it was just one of those things that I really, really noticed because it happened again and again’ (Pictured in Star Wars)
While she can’t control what other people do, the star focuses on keeping her ‘side of the street clean’ in the hope it can ‘help change’ things for others in the industry.
She said: ‘I think small acts of courage do something and I try to keep my side of the street clean and I try to advocate for what I can for the next person that’s going to be in that situation.
‘I think that oftentimes what we can all do is the small things that really make a huge difference… it’s really scary a lot of the time but the small thing might help change for the next person in the industry.’
Daisy’s comments come after she made sure to pose up a storm as she attended the Young Woman and the Sea film screening in London in May.
The actress wowed in a quirky black PVC midi dress which featured a daring plunging neckline.
Complete with puffed shoulder pads, Daisy cinched in her waist with a matching black leather belt and accessorised the look with some cream leather heels.
While she can’t control what other people do, the star focuses on keeping her ‘side of the street clean’ in the hope it can ‘help change’ things for others in the industry (Pictured in December)
Daisy’s comments come after she made sure to pose up a storm as she attended the Young Woman and the Sea film screening in London in May
Young Woman And The Sea is based on Glenn Stout’s book of the same name, which was originally published in 2009 (Daisy pictured in the film)
The star, who plays legendary swimmer Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle in the film, beamed in snaps as she gelled her hair back across her head and tucked the brunette locks behind her ears.
Young Woman And The Sea is based on Glenn Stout’s book of the same name, which was originally published in 2009.
The movie is centred on the life of Gertrude Ederle, an Olympic gold medallist who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926.
In addition to Daisy, the film also stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham and Christopher Eccleston.
