Today is Entertainment Weekly‘s final article on the characters from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Felicity Jones discusses her first time meeting with director Gareth Edwards and discussing Jyn Erso:

“We were both working at the time and we met at something like 5:30 a.m. in a hotel restaurant,” Jones recalls. “Most of the meeting was conducted in whispers as he explained the story and the character. My first introduction was definitely one shrouded in secrecy and being very careful no one overheard what we were talking about.

Jones also discusses how difficult it was to train for the role:

 “I’m laughing now, but at the time, it was physically exhausting,” says the actress, 32. “It took a lot of hours of practice, and I worked with a kung fu coach, and I learned to fight, even though I never thought beating up Stormtroopers was something I’d be doing in my job. It came through hard work and lots of practice and rehearsals.”

Jones goes on to talk about how Jyn is someone who you would think is an unlikely hero:

“She is absolutely a very unlikely heroine,” the actress says. “She’s someone on the edges and fringes of society. Physically, she’s smaller than everyone else around her, but… when someone has something they believe in, that’s what powers them, that’s what motivates them, that’s what can give someone enormous strength.”

Jones says that Jyn looks up to Mon Mothma:

“I would say there’s a huge amount of respect for women in the Rebellion. Mon Mothma is ultimately, for Jyn, someone she looks up to,” Jones says. “So even as the film opens [Jyn] has a very strong female role model in front of her, and someone she respects.

If you haven’t seen the second trailer for Rogue One, check it out HERE!