KELLY MARIE TRAN is a colossal
fangirl. Her geekery, she freely
admits, runs so deep it borders
on obsession. Unfortunately, it’s
not for Star Wars.
“I am such a Harry Potter
freak,” she squeals, hands fl apping
to emphasise the point. “Rian
always makes fun of me for it. I was
aware of Star Wars but... it’s no
Harry Potter.”
Tran — an obvious Huffl epuff —
is the newest addition to the
Star Wars family as Resistance
engineer Rose Tico. “She’s not
a hero at all,” she explains.
“She’s in maintenance and
works on pipes all day.”
That, at least, is something
Tran can relate to, having
spent countless hours cleaning
bathrooms to pay the rent
while hopping from one audition
to the next.
“I knew there was a very likely
chance that I’d be working odd jobs
and doing these weird improv
comedy shows in empty theatres
for the rest of my life.”
Her improv comedy background
struck a chord, however, and landed
her the part of Rose, who partners
with Finn and lends an ebullient
blast of comic relief to the pair’s
adventure.
“Rian really wanted her to
feel like someone who didn’t fi t
into a big studio movie, or into the
Star Wars world,” she says. “It feels
very metaphorical to my life. I’m
this absolute nobody but here
I am and Laura Dern knows my
name. It’s insane! I feel like Frodo
leaving the Shire.”
And the best part of all?
“Our fi rst AD on The Last Jedi?”
She leans in conspiratorially. “He
worked on all the Harry Potter fi lms!”