Laura Dern is Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (and other awesome things about her.)

I was a guest of Disney & LucasFilm at the the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Global Press Event last week. All opinions are my own. This Laura Dern Star Wars Interview is part of my coverage of the #TheLastJediEvent. Interview photos are provided by Louise Bishop at MomStart.com

Laura Dern is Vice Admiral Holdo in THE LAST JEDI. Photo credit: Disney

The Awesomeness that is Laura Dern

I had the chance to have a spoiler free chat with Laura Dern and her involvement in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It should come to no surprise that Laura Dern is just a lovely person. She was a delight for us to all to talk to.

You may remember her as a strong woman in Jurassic Park

Laura Dern is a role model for so many little girls. It's been over two decades since Jurassic Park was in theaters, and girls are still dressing up as Ellie Sattler and rocking their Timberlands on Halloween.

Her very recent Golden Globe Nomination

She was nominated for a Golden Globe this morning - for best supporting actress for BIG LITTLE LIES. Not that it's a surprise. She's brilliant.

And well, there's this "little independent film" called Star Wars.

Laura's first connection to Star Wars is seeing it as a young girl.

"I was little girl and I stood in line. It was the first time I stood in line for a movie at the Cinerama Dome and it was blocks long. And it was profound for me. And the genre seemingly would not have been something I was interested in but the spoiled part is I have been raised by Actors."

Star Wars changed EVERYTHING.

"And then suddenly Star Wars opened up this kind of storytelling in this massive way so it felt personal, as Star Wars does to all of us."

Carrie Fisher was her hero too.

"I know what Leia was for me as I know she was for all of you. And it was again, not just her strength in some super heroic way but in the deeply human way that she, Carrie so incredibly embodied was this fearless irreverent sassy bold, vulnerable Female. And all things to be true and powerful and kick butt and all of those things were in one character."

How Laura Dern became part of the Star Wars story.

"Rian Johnson called asking to have lunch and talk about something. And we went to lunch and he started describing something he was looking for in a character and would love for me to help invent this with him."

And then it she realized...

"And it all sounded great and it wasn’t until sort of the end of the lunch, it was like [WHISPERS] it’s in Star Wars, and like oh my God, it’s amazing having been a huge fan as a child. I was sort of listening to this amazing story and that’s what’s incredible about Star Wars. He started describing a world that was about the complexity of being a human being and the battle between light and dark and not knowing which would win, and the struggle of family and the hero’s journey."

Laura Dern is Amilyn Holdo in THE LAST JEDI.

Laura Dern is Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.

There’s a new boss in town. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo has arrived in the Resistance. Things are going to change. She's beyond the purple hair, the jewelry and nail color in space. She's a strong and powerful woman.

I wish we all could have kept chatting with Laura about her love for film, and Star Wars. She's an absolute joy.

Group Photo with Laura Dern — Photo Credit: MomStart

Are you ready to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi?

Take your family to theaters to experience the legacy of Star Wars on December 15th. It's beyond good guy vs. bad guy. It's about choice, And family. It's the deepest story telling we have.