Daisy Ridley early this week shared her exclusive reflections on her role in the new zombie thriller We Bury the Dead, directed by Zak Hilditch. Best known as Rey in the Star Wars saga, Ridley now portrays Ava, a woman navigating grief in a post-apocalyptic world.

Her quote appears as part of JustWatch’s new Why to Watch feature, showcasing personal insights from top actors to guide audiences toward meaningful stories. With We Bury the Dead, Ridley proves her talent extends far beyond the galaxy.

“The script is beautiful. It’s about grief and watching someone desperately trying to find an answer, even though she doesn’t know what that answer is going to be. The backdrop of the zombies represents this moment for [my character] Ava because she’s neither here nor there emotionally. Ava’s sole purpose is to find her husband. As a means to get to him, she joins the body retrieval unit, which volunteers to find people and notify families.”

“The zombies look like our friends and family, so it’s close enough to reality, but in a way that doesn’t feel too close. It feels horribly human.” – Daisy Ridley

JustWatch also spoke with director Zak Hilditch—find out more about We Bury the Dead and why it’s a must-watch, straight from the filmmakers and stars:

We Bury the Dead is a gripping, emotional thriller set in a world transformed by the undead. In a unique take on the zombie genre, the film follows Ava—a woman tormented by loss—who volunteers with a corpse retrieval unit to search for her missing husband. Set against a surreal yet intimate apocalypse, the story explores love, grief, and the fragile boundaries of what makes us human.

Daisy Ridley skyrocketed to international fame as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019)—a role she will reprise in upcoming instalments.

Beyond the galaxy far, far away, Ridley has earned critical acclaim for her versatility in films such as Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Ophelia (2018), and Chaos Walking (2021). She also voiced the title character in The Marsh King’s Daughter and starred in the poignant indie drama Sometimes I Think About Dying. In 2025, Ridley takes on a bold, genre-defying role in We Bury the Dead.