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Daisy Ridley and John Boyega explain how 'Star Wars' changed their lives

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened in 2015, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were relatively unknown. Boyega briefly surfaced on genre fans’ radar for the 2011 sci-fi comedy Attack the Block, while Ridley had really only worked on British television.

The Force Awakens was a game-changer for both, of course, instantly catapulting them to worldwide fame. As they began another international tour to promote the new follow-up, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ridley and Boyega explained to Yahoo Entertainment how they’ve adjusted to their newfound statuses as the faces of the megafranchise (watch above).

“It’s weird, because there’s this sort of division of you as a person, and then you as you’re seen by other people, which is this whole other thing,” says Ridley, whose time in the limelight hasn’t been without the occasional bump in the road. In 2016, the actress quit social media after backlash to a gun-control post and has vowed not to return. “It’s odd, it’s peculiar. I’m very lucky to be working, and I’m very, very lucky to be a part of this. So it’s wonderful, but it’s not without its moments.”

Boyega said the adjustment has been gradual. “I take it day by day,” he explains. “These Star Wars movies will mess you up and have you planning 20 years of your life. And you don’t even know if you’re gonna be alive that long. It’s crazy, just to try to slow down and pace [yourself]. I guess I’m more aware of that now than I was before.”

But it most get more normal as they go, right? “No it doesn’t, actually,” Ridley says. “To me it gets less normal.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens Dec. 15.

Watch the Last Jedi cast debate the virtues of the porg:

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