Naomi Ackie has revealed that she was considering quitting acting before being cast in the new Star Wars film.
She said that in late 2017 she gave herself 12 months to concentrate on becoming a full-time actress and would have “figured something else out” had she not been successful.
The decision paid off for Ackie, who was born and raised in Walthamstow. Soon after leaving her part-time job at the West End Crystal Maze experience she was cast as Jannah, a bow and arrow-wielding Resistance ally in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.
The 27-year-old, who in the past year has been cast as Bonnie in Channel 4’s The End Of The F***ing World, told ES Magazine: “I said to myself, I have to quit this side job and give myself a year of not doing any other work on top of whatever acting jobs I can get. And if I turn 27 and things have not kicked off, then I need to let this go and figure something else out.”
Despite almost giving up on acting, Ackie, a 2012 graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, said she was pleased that success had taken a while. “If I was 20 years old and had what I have now, I would not be able to handle it, and would have gone into my own shell,” she said.
“Everything happens in its own time. This is the opportunity to work and build a life for myself that I’ve always kind of seen in my head. So I’m just really looking to embrace it.” The plot of the new Star Wars movie, which stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Mark Hamill and rounds off the sci-fi saga, remains a closely-guarded secret.
Ackie gave only a small hint about her character, saying: “If Jannah offers anything then it’s the warrior spirit, just when [the other heroes] need it… she brings an all-or-nothing vibe to the crew.”
The actress, who won a British Independent Film Award for most promising newcomer in 2017, said she was proud to be among a diverse cast of actors, saying fans of the franchise deserved to “see themselves” in the movies.
She said: “Worldwide, people are spending money and they deserve to see themselves in the things they’re spending money on. There’s this idea that inclusivity and seeking diversity is this agenda. And the truth is, it is. It’s an agenda, but it’s about addition rather than erasure. And people who have a problem with that, I really don’t have time or space for them.”
She said she had received positive feedback from black parents already. “I’ve had messages from people thanking me for wearing my natural hair on Star Wars because their little girls, who have been down on their natural hair, are feeling great after seeing me.”
Ackie, who until recently lived with her retired TfL worker father, said she hoped she would still have a normal life after the film is released next week. She joked: “I mean, I’m not walking around with the Star Wars poster hanging around my neck or dressed as Jannah when I’m getting on the Tube.”
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker is released on December 19.
