Anya Taylor-Joy navigated her career in Hollywood
After her breakout performance in 2015’s horror movie The Witch, Anya Taylor-Joy has carved out a distinctively defined niche in the film industry. The American-Argentine-British actress is a fearless, versatile performer who brings depth and authenticity to all of her roles. Her choices run the gamut from horror and thriller to drama and action, and her ability to find a truth beneath the surface of her characters has earned her both critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase.
In the years since she first burst onto the scene, Taylor-Joy has taken on a range of challenging projects, from a Russian sorceress in Netflix’s limited series The Queen’s Gambit to a disillusioned artist in Last Night in Soho to a vengeful Viking widow in Edgar Wright’s upcoming horror movie The New Mutants. She’s also appeared in a handful of high-profile TV shows, including Peaky Blinders and a guest spot on Seth Meyers. And she’s set to appear as a young Furiosa in George Miller’s highly anticipated Mad Max: Fury Road prequel.
With each new role, anya taylor-joy career continues to prove herself a formidable and versatile actor, and one whose talent is only growing with age. She’s a natural in front of the camera, with a wide-eyed expressiveness that makes her particularly compelling on screen. But she’s also a thoughtful, inquisitive human being who seems to have a firm grasp of what it means to be a woman working in Hollywood.
How has Anya Taylor-Joy navigated her career in Hollywood?
Throughout our conversation, Taylor-Joy talks about her cosmopolitan upbringing, the importance of self-care, and her recent thoughts on fame—as well as how she navigates the ins and outs of the movie business. She’s thoughtful, warm, and intelligent—and she carries the gravitas of someone much older than she is.
Growing up, Taylor-Joy was a dancer and harbored dreams of becoming an actress. She was scouted as a model when she was 16 and eventually made the decision to quit school and pursue acting full time. She was raised in a racially diverse, liberal household by her mother, Jennifer Marina Joy, a psychologist, and her father, Dennis, who has English, Scottish, and Argentine heritage. The family later moved to London, and though Taylor-Joy initially resisted learning English with the hopes of returning to Argentina, she soon embraced the language and began booking work.
Her career has exploded in the years since. She starred in The Witch, Emma, and Last Night in Soho, winning a Golden Globe along the way for her performance as Beth Harmon in the former; she’s reteamed with Eggers on The Northman and Amsterdam; and has been joined onscreen by the likes of Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Zo Saldana, and Robert De Niro. Her star continues to rise, and as she enters her thirties, Taylor-Joy is relishing the accelerated pace of her success.