Felicity Jones reflects on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One // DECEMBER 23, 2021
Five years after playing rebel Jyn Erso, the actor tells StarWars.com how his character has stayed with her ever since and more.
Felicity Jones had just stepped out of what would become her Oscar nominated turn as Jane Hawking in The theory of everything when she entered the Star wars galaxy as the protagonist of the franchise’s first standalone film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Storey in 2015.
“I couldn’t believe how amazing it was,” Jones told StarWars.com now, as the film marks the fifth anniversary of its release in December 2016. “Most female roles in franchises in the UK ‘era were secondary roles. But Jyn Erso was different: rambling, tough, resilient and undoubtedly center stage as the leader of an impressive team of thieves and rebels. “I instinctively felt that I understood Jyn and that I knew how I wanted to play it. “
Jones had long been a fan of the Galaxy from afar, having first been introduced to the movies in her cousins’ house as a child. “They liked everything about Star wars and I remember them showing my brother and I the movies on VHS, ”she says. The five children crowded around the TV on the family’s living room floor, mesmerized by the bright screen. “The opening titles and the feeling of anticipation, it was almost [like] virtual reality and we entered a whole new realm! She said enthusiastically. To this day, she still counts the original Star wars sequel as one of his favorites. “You can’t beat The Empire Strikes Back – just beautiful !
A love of cinema drove Jones to start acting when she was still young, landing her first role in a TV movie when she was around 12 years old. About 20 years later she was playing the main role. in a Star wars movie. The scale of Lucasfilm’s production eclipsed many of his earlier endeavors, despite an impressive career that already included a foray into the superhero genre with The Incredible Spider-Man 2. “The scale of [Rogue One] was amazing – the number of extras, the amount of crew, the size of the sets. I had never experienced anything like this, ”she says. “It was like being on another planet.”
In fact, on his first day of filming in July 2015, Jones was on site in Jordan with a small unit capturing pre-set footage of a scene with Jyn, Cassian, and K-2S0 overlooking Jedha’s rocky terrain. “We got up incredibly early to get the pre-dawn light, which gave this wonderful sense of anticipation to the scene. It was just Diego and me, ”she remembers fondly. “It was amazing that we went from such large sets to moments of quiet intimacy with just one essential crew for some sequences.”
Director Gareth Edwards, who recently spoke to StarWars.com to share his own memories of the experience, was a colleague Star wars the fan intends to give the gritty war movie a realistic feel. “[Gareth] I wanted to shoot in an almost documentary way, which gave the film so much authenticity, ”Jones says. And although she hasn’t seen the film since its release, she remains in awe of the production. “[It’s] just amazing how much skill and know-how it takes to make these films with hundreds of people. It is a deeply collaborative process.
For her part, by the time she arrived in Jordan, Jones had already spent months building the role and preparing her mind and body to transform into a rebel war hero. The actor was already known for his studious approach to his work. For a role in the romantic comedy Cottage girl, she learned to snowboard. For The theory of everything, she met the real Jane Hawking, so deeply impressing the former wife of physicist Stephen Hawking with her attention to detail that Hawking told reporters she felt like she was staring at herself onscreen. With legendary Carrie Fisher and Daisy Ridley’s Princess Leia Organa who recently relaunched the Skywalker Saga films as the mysterious scavenger Rey in the lead, Jones crafted his version of a fiercely independent Jyn Erso.
“I approached Jyn very physically, I wanted her to feel that she has learned to fight her whole life and that she is navigating the universe in such a way that she is ready and ready to attack whenever she wants. ‘she needs it,’ Jones says. In the weeks leading up to the shoot, Jones learned a form of martial arts called Wushu and became an intensely dedicated practitioner. “It gave me the physical strength to wipe out stormtroopers, but also a sense of mental strength that is so essential to martial arts – that your body can be a lethal weapon and you have to use that strength wisely. “
Although her film co-stars have previously said that Jones resembles her character the most in reality, given a temper that makes her a natural leader and the physical personality she brought to the role, five years later, she says she still wears part of Jyn. and the lessons the role taught him in his real life.
“I loved all of these aspects of Jyn – her leadership skills and her instinct for survival and also a kind of inner peace that made her feel ‘what happens, happens.’ Many of the attributes we need now with the pandemic we’re going through. “Jones says. In fact, grappling with the role of a rebel ready to face the entire Empire on her own gave Jones the strength and courage to stand up to real life bullies. “I felt invincible after playing Jyn,” she said. “I remember a young man pestering my elderly neighbor for money at her front door and I stepped in to get him to leave her alone. .I definitely channeled some of Jyn’s strength at that point!
Associate Editor Kristin Baver is the author of the book Skywalker: A Family at War, host of This week! In Star Wars, and a complete sci-fi nerd who always has just one more question in an endless list of curiosities. Sometimes she blurted out “It’s a trap!” Even when it is not. Follow her on twitter @KristinBaver.
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