When Daisy Ridley was cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, most people asked the same question: "Who?" That was followed by another logical question: "How did that happen?"

Before the initial cast announcement was made in late April 2014 (see photo below; Ridley is sitting between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in the upper right), her screen appearances were quite limited.

After completing her education at a school for the performing arts, she landed a guest appearance on the British television show Youngers in 2013 and then quickly began popping up in other TV shows as well.

Still, when Ridley auditioned for the seventh installment of the Star Wars series, a process that took seven months (watch video above), she could properly be described as "someone new," which fit with what director J.J. Abrams wanted. He had specific requirements in mind: "This character needed to be vulnerable and tough, sweet and terrified. And to find someone that no one knew, who could do all of these things, took a lot of looking."

When Ridley was brought in to audition for Abrams, he had her act out a particularly dramatic scene. Abrams says that she "blew his mind." Watch the official casting video below to see what he means.

Clearly, Ridley exceeded expectations as an unknown actress, winning fans around the world. Now she'll have to live up to her own high standards in Star Wars: Episode VIII, headed to theaters on December 15, 2017. Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be available on Friday, April 1 via the brand new FandangoNOW VOD platform, ahead of the DVD and Blu-ray editions on April 5.