Who is Daisy Ridley? Meet the Star Wars: Episode VII Star

Among the familiar names announced as part of the Star Wars: Episode VII cast— your legends like Max von Sydow and Harrison Ford, your American TV star Adam Driver—one particular newcomer seemed to stand out. Who the heck is Daisy Ridley, and how did she just land this huge new job?

A young British actress, Ridley’s credits largely include English television, and stretch way, way back to 2013, when she had roles on Casualty, Youngers, Toast of London, Silent Witness and in the Jeremy Piven-led Mr. Selfridge, which aired in America on PBS. The above showreel shows off snippets of her work on some of those shows and in several music videos. According to her résumé, she has also booked a role in the next Inbetweeners movie, which filmed in January 2014. It was her second feature-film credit, after the similarly small Scrawl, which she’ll now follow up with something much, much more massive.

Her role in Star Wars: Episode VII is, like virtually everything else, completely unknown. A different young actress had been rumored for a role that would be a descendant of Jedi knight Ben Kenobi, but whether or not that role has stayed intact through multiple script revisions is anybody’s guess.