The Rogue One press event was so much fun. A large part of that was because we were able to interview the cast of the movie. I will have several interviews in the coming days with several cast members.
Today, I have the interview with Felicity Jones who plays Jyn Erso. She is as beautiful in person as she is on film. She was dressed in the most gorgeous dress and equally amazing shoes. She was funny and thoughtful. When she entered the room, the first thing she did was show is a Jyn doll with eight arms that someone gave her. It was a good way to break the ice.
We were able to ask her lots of questions during our time with her and she was really interesting and funny. We didn't get a lot of insight into the movie since it is mostly under wraps until the opening but we did get insight into Felicity and what the movie means to her.
Here is some of the interview with Felicity Jones.
On her character Jyn:
Jyn has a very strong ideology. She hates the empire, she hates everything they stand for, they have destroyed her family, so anytime she sees a storm trooper she is like an animal who wants to take them down. At the same time she has a wonderful humanity and she learns how to be a leader throughout the film. She starts off bit of an outsider and very suspicious and untrusting of people.
She’s had a bit of a hard life, there’s been quite a lot of struggle, so it’s not easy for her to trust people. And, and throughout the film you see her forming [relationships] with the other rebels. And finding something that they all have a common; the common dislike of the empire and they unite over that despite their differences.
On finding out she was cast as Jyn:
I had a phone call from Gareth Edwards but my agent, who I’m very close to and we’ve worked together for years and years and years, said to me, ‘I’m pretty sure it’s yours.’ But when Gareth phones you up can you make sure that you sound really surprised?’ You go like, ‘great.’ Because he wanted to break the news to us but so he, he called and said, ‘I’d love you to play the part.’
And then I was thinking, ‘that’s great but there’s gonna be a lot of training involved in this film so I’d better get my ass to the gym.’
On the training involved for the role:
I’ve never done any of this stuff before so it was just learning everything from the very beginning and just working very closely with the stunt team who took me through you know, these sort of acrobatic moves that Jyn would have to perform eventually.
I used to do actually a little bit [martial arts training] when I was little. I don’t know if anyone else did this at school, high school judo.
I look back and that’s kind of a weird thing to be doing at ten years old but I did a little bit of judo when I was younger and I absolutely loved it. So, I definitely enjoyed that side of it but there were a lot of early mornings of kind of half asleep, running around the set and, and everyone is permanently in sweat pants when you’re in Star Wars.
What Star Wars means to her:
I think Star Wars lasted for so long is it’s about family. It’s not just blood relations it’s all, it’s family, the family that you form with friends. I think what’s so special about it is those friendships are across different races, different languages but it’s people who come together and they’re obviously united by, by fighting the forces of evil.
And I think that’s what people, generations and generations tap into those, those relationships and, and really empathize with those characters.
About working with male cast:
I absolutely love all of them [cast] and everyone is very different and we all have our quirks and our ways but there, there is a real spirit of collaboration. And I never felt like there were any huge egos, it felt like everyone was in it together and there was real support.
Working with a group of men you could think that they would be sort of trying to cut you down or sort of compete but I was very lucky, they were very supportive throughout everything. I felt like we’ve all built a team off set as well as when we were working.
About playing a strong female character:
I just wanted the audience to just really care about her [Jyn] and empathize with her and be in it alongside her. And she’s very resourceful and it was very clear [that] Gareth and I we’re both from the same page about this, we didn’t want her to keep being saved. You know, sometimes in films the, the female character is often the one who’s sort of in distress and then the male character comes and gets her out of it.
And we were very clear about just making sure that she could survive on her own. And she’s capable but also at the same time they do need each other, there is a team and they, and a part of what makes someone strong is being able to work in a team. And to, to rely on other people so it was trying to get, get that balance.
Well, what I like about her is she’s not a princess, she’s not really rich, she’s not privileged, that’s what we’re used to seeing in these sort of leading Disney roles. She’s very much an ordinary woman and ordinary girl who’s had to make the best of things and I think what I would like young girls to take from it is resourcefulness and self-reliance. Jyn isn’t always sweetness and light and giggles, she is exactly who she wants to be.
And I think that’s what’s important that young girls don’t feel like they have to conform to some idea of what a girl should be. It’s like you can be whoever you want, whatever you are and take confidence in that and there isn’t a standard that we should all be working towards. It’s like, this is what perfection is you know, 'cause that makes everyone feel bad. It’s about celebrating what’s different about us and, and being allowed, society letting that come through.
On being a part of the Star Wars franchise:
I think sometimes it comes with a lot of pressure, and it’s obviously it’s you know Star Wars is the boss. It’s not any individual or any one person, it’s the whole franchise and, and I think it’s the responsibility. And not letting that kind of become too much and get to sort of overly serious.
What a great interview. What I loved most and what came across in the other interviews is how this cast became a family during the filming. That was nice to hear. Oh and Felicity's favorite Star Wars character? Han Solo, of course!
Visit the official ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY website: http://www.starwars.com/films/rogue-one
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY arrives in theaters everywhere on December 16th In RealD 3D and IMAX 3D!
Fascinating interview. So glad you got to be there.
ReplyDeleteslehan at juno dot com