Entertainment
Eiza González Confirms Star Wars Audition
She’s been to outer space in 3 Body Problem and to the future in Alita: Battle Angel, but Eiza González nearly found herself in a galaxy far, far away long before becoming a Hollywood star. Appearing on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast last year, González recalled auditioning for what she initially believed was a mystery project before discovering it was actually Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
At the time, González was largely unknown outside of Mexico and didn’t have an agent, manager, or publicist in the United States. In fact, the opportunity only came about because her mother decided to take matters into her own hands. During a 2021 appearance on Collider Ladies Night, González explained that her mother created an IMDbPro profile for her and began submitting her for projects.
“She’s like, ‘Oh, some friend of mine told me something about this thing called IMDbPro. I think you have a profile. I think I’m gonna put your name and my email under it and just see what happens.’ And I [was] just like, ‘Sure, mom.’ And she knew that I was really depressed and sad at the time. So then she called me one day, and she’s like, ‘There’s this audition.’ I was like, ‘I don’t even know how to audition in America. I don’t have a rep.’ They’re like, ’They’re just telling you to go.’ So I did. I had no idea. I’d never auditioned in English in my life, but I just did it for shits and giggles, you know? I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll do it. It’s not going to happen!’ So then I did and then, it sounds very self-indulgent, but it really happened this way. I had a callback, and then I didn’t really know what I was auditioning for, and then I had another callback, and I was like, ‘What is happening?’ And then, long story short, it turned out I was auditioning for Star Wars, for The Force Awakens.”
González later revealed on Ferguson’s podcast that she went through several rounds of auditions before finally realizing what project she was reading for. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I had no idea it was Star Wars until I walked in and saw J.J. Abrams. ‘I was like, ohhh, this is big’.” The actor previously explained that she had never encountered a non-disclosure agreement before the audition process and had little understanding of just how closely guarded Lucasfilm’s upcoming sequel trilogy was at the time.
Did Eiza González Audition For Rey?
González has never publicly revealed which role she was auditioning for, and Lucasfilm has never confirmed any details about the casting process. While she ultimately didn’t land a part in The Force Awakens, the experience proved to be an early step in her Hollywood journey. Shortly afterward, she was cast as Santanico Pandemonium in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, a breakout role that helped launch her American career and paved the way for projects including Baby Driver, Ambulance, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and most recently In the Grey.
Like many of the actors who auditioned for The Force Awakens, González was reading for a project shrouded in secrecy. During the casting process, Rey was referred to by the production code name “Kira,” a holdover from earlier drafts of the screenplay before the character’s name was finalized. González was one of several young actresses considered for the role, alongside future stars including Saoirse Ronan, Elizabeth Olsen, Shailene Woodley, Jessica Henwick, Billie Lourd, and Jodie Comer, all of whom have publicly discussed auditioning for the film. The coveted part ultimately went to newcomer Daisy Ridley, who led a cast that also included John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, and Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke. The film also brought back franchise icons Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Anthony Daniels, helping launch a new era of Star Wars storytelling.
- Release Date
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May 13, 2026
- Runtime
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98 minutes
- Producers
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Ivan Atkinson, Dave Caplan, Guy Ritchie, John Friedberg
In the Grey is available to watch at home on VOD.
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