May the fourth be with you...
Today is international Star Wars Day and as Jedi fever spreads across the galaxy, so does one local hero’s viral online message to the franchise’s leading lady.
When aspiring film-maker Alice Barker, from Meltham, wrote to The Force Awakens star Daisy Ridley she had no idea it would be seen by the rest of the cast.
Inspirational Alice, 20, has cerebral palsy but is determined to prove that disabilities do not hinder dreams.
After writing an open Facebook letter to Daisy, who plays Rey in the most recent film, Alice’s message went viral and was picked up by Star Wars blogger Blabba the Hutt using the Twitter hashtag #ReyOfHope.
But when Alice’s story was shared on Twitter by original Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill to his 1.09million followers, she was left lost for words.
The tweet, in which the Hollywood legend wrote: “Can I have a job on your 1st movie?”, was shared by Princess Leia actress Julie Dolan and Ana-Marie Leonte, who plays Dasha Promenti in the December blockbuster.
Alice, who is currently studying Film Studies at Sheffield Hallam University, wrote to Daisy to tell her about her struggles and how much the actress’ character had inspired her to push for her dreams.
In the open letter, the former Newsome High School student wrote: “Your character, Rey, is my favourite character because I can relate to her and her struggle.
“I have cerebral palsy, which means I use a wheelchair, but I am not going to let that get in the way of my dreams.”
Alice said of the reaction to her letter: “When I saw Mark Hamill had tweeted about it I was so shocked I dropped my phone! He is one of my heroes.
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“The response has been crazy and it’s pushed me even more to go for my dream. Film making is all I want to do.”
Watch Alice's inspiring video about her dreams of Hollywood
But now Alice wants to push the letter further, and is encouraging more people to share it in the hope that actress Daisy, who does not use Twitter will see it and respond.
“I wrote to Daisy because I could identify with Rey. We both work hard but sometimes struggle with loneliness.”
Alice was diagnosed with neurological condition Cerebral Palsy when she was just 12 months old and uses a wheelchair.
She discovered her ambition to work in the film industry after watching James Cameron’s Avatar aged 14.
