Laura Dern says children are scared of her since she appeared in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’.
The 50-year-old actress plays Vice Admiral Holdo in the eighth installment of the sci-fi saga and she has seen a difference in how her younger fans react around her since she stepped foot in a galaxy far, far away.
Laura told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: "I have never had an experience (like ‘Star Wars’). And that includes ‘Jurassic Park’, of what it feels like to be a character to young children that feels otherworldly or iconic or whatever that is. So now, I’ve had this amazing experience of little kids seeing me and instead of wanting to talk about the movie, they kind of back away, a little scared.
"It’s like when you go to Disneyland and see Mickey Mouse and you’re little… It’s a weird thing that ‘Star Wars’ holds something a bit untouchable or something like that."
But the ‘Big Little Lies’ actress can relate to that feeling herself – confessing she broke down in tears the first time she met Wookiee alien Chewbacca on set and got to speak with Mark Hamill, who plays Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
Laura admitted: "Just being around Mark [Hamill], who plays Luke Skywalker], it takes your breath away a little bit and certainly, even on set, seeing these characters and Chewbacca hugging me on my first day of work – I literally wept. So that’s a really interesting thing, to be aware of what that legacy means for kids."
Meanwhile, Laura is reportedly dating 38-year-old professional basketball player Baron Davis.
The pair were said to be spotted kissing during a romantic lunch date in Beverly Hills in December.
Laura split from Ben Harper in 2013 after eight years of marriage and the pair share joint custody of their two teenage children.
Baron’s wife Isabella Brewster – sister of ‘Fast and Furious’ star Jordana Brewster – filed for divorce in June and requested primary physical and joint legal custody of their two children.
Laura has previously been linked to Nicholas Cage, Kyle MacLachlan and Jeff Goldblum.
She was engaged to and living with Billy Bob Thornton, when he left her devastated by suddenly marrying Angelina Jolie in 2000, while she was away filming.
Laura Dern’s Star Wars status scares off kids
