Anya Taylor-Joy: “I was very lucky that this job existed, otherwise I would have gone crazy”

A doe look, beautiful to the point of strangeness, and long blond hair worthy of the fairy Mélusine.

Anya Taylor-Joy, 25, is no doll.

"The punk princess of Hollywood" recently headlined the English press.

This remarkable actress, revealed by

, the Netflix series with sixty-two million streams, and now ambassador for Dior fashion and make-up, seems to belong to a new generation of freed women who are consciously shaking up the representations of women. .

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Read alsoAnya Taylor-Joy: 5 films to see the revelation of

Per Zoom, she is congratulated that most of the characters she has played on screen are

, tough guys.

She thanks, delighted.

And continues, in a surprisingly serious voice, with chosen words: “By representing women too often in a one-dimensional way, we are depriving ourselves of a very beautiful range of nuances.

In general, human beings are never so smooth or so polite.

They vibrate with a whole range of emotions.”

Obviously, Anya Taylor-Joy too.

An idyllic childhood in Buenos Aires, connected to nature and animals, will have bubbling in her a whole pool of stories, which this youngest of six children, raised as an only daughter, told to herself.

“I was going for a walk in the woods and I embodied all the characters, she confides to us with delicacy.

It may sound weird, but a voice in my head was telling me to become an actress, because it

was the path that would bring me peace and happiness.

I was very lucky that this job existed, because without it, I think I would have gone crazy.

In video,

The Northman

, the trailer with Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgård

A move to London, desired by her American-Argentinian banker father and her psychologist mother, however, comes to brutally break the daily life of the six-year-old girl.

A student in a private college, the future actress refuses to learn English in the hope that, if she only speaks Spanish, her parents will resign themselves to returning to her lost paradise.

But we offer him the

and she soon becomes familiar with the language of wizards.

At sixteen, another miracle happened: while walking her dog in the evening, near the Harrods department store, while practicing walking in her mother's high heels for a party, she was followed by a car which will turn out to be that of Sarah Doukas, co-creator with Richard Branson of the supermodel agency Storm and discoverer of Kate Moss.

She worked as a model before being chosen at the age of sixteen for her first film,

, directed by Robert Eggers, and continuing with a few other fantastic films, including

by M. Night Shyamalan.

Course without failure

But it is thanks

, a series where she perfectly embodies a young orphan who has become an international chess champion, that her career suddenly explodes during the pandemic and earns her the Golden Globe. for Best Actress in a Miniseries.

A huge success that radically changes its trajectory.

“It took me a while to get used to it, she says humbly, and today I finally got used to this new life.

I am very happy that this series has touched people.

Many who felt very isolated during the lockdown told me that the show helped them feel connected to each other.

I found it beautiful and moving.”

Anya Taylor-Joy, the Cover Story

In images, in pictures

See the slideshow07 photos

See the slideshow07 photos

On the private side, Anya Taylor-Joy thrives alongside her companion, musician Malcolm McRae.

On the cinema side, the proposals are pouring in.

However, she does not turn away from the crossroads she has carved out for herself: on screen, she plays singular heroines with a strong temperament, who express her desire to move away from clichés.

Loneliness, the feeling of being different – ​​stirred up at home by the real bullying she will suffer in college from students who make fun of her appearance – the boldness to ignore, irrigate her roles.

After Thomasin, the sixteen-year-old girl accused of being a witch in

, or Emma, ​​Jane Austen's overly spoiled heroine in

, ​​she will take over the warrior role of Charlize Theron in

Mad Max

prequel

.

Through her characters, Anya Taylor-Joy is also the kind of actress who tells us a lot about herself.

“Each character helped me grow, revealed something to me about myself or pushed me to confront my limits, she explains.

Sometimes you realize it in the moment and sometimes you realize it after the movie is over.

Each role would therefore be linked to its history?

“Yes, but we do not perceive it immediately.

I generally feel a very strong intuition that pushes me to ask myself: how could I live if I refuse this role or if I accept it?

Making a film and bringing a character to life is an arduous process that takes you away from your own existence, and you have to be extremely passionate to do it.”

Making a movie and bringing a character to life is an arduous process that takes you away from your own existence

Anya Taylor Joy

A remark that perfectly sums up the challenge of filming

, his new film by esthete Robert Eggers, an impressive Viking revenge story based on the Scandinavian tale that inspired Shakespeare's

.

The actress with dual American and British nationality plays in English, with a beautiful Scandinavian accent and in rags, Olga of the Birch Forest, the companion of young Prince Amleth, alongside Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård or Ethan Hawke.

Total experience

For her, the perfect opportunity to find Eggers, the first director to have trusted her, and thus complete the loop of seven years of filming without respite or almost.

“It was extremely moving to find Robert, she says.

Because it was when I arrived on her set that I said to myself: “Ah, but that's why I am the way I am!

“He was the one who offered me my first role and who shaped me.

If I approach my work by being as invested as possible and by erasing any notion of glamour, it's thanks to him.

The filming of

was really interesting, because it was raw, between rain, storm or cold.

And there was only one take per shot.

So we waited all day before shooting this single take, which had to be perfect.

I think that's what makes the film really special, and allows viewers to travel with the characters in a very emotional way."

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The actress knows how to move seamlessly from the Viking universe to that of Avenue Montaigne, where the heart of the Dior house beats.

For the intrepid actress, totally dedicated to her art, the territories of cinema and fashion respond to each other.

The young woman has invested herself in her new role as ambassador with the "very nerd" requirement, she says, which she brings to the preparation of all her roles: devouring all the books on Christian Dior, immersing herself in various documents on the history of the prestigious house.

In fact, she gives each of her appearances on the red carpet the touch of audacity and adventure that is unique to her.

“I was lucky to be educated by a whole team of extremely talented people,” she remarks.

And I

approaches each red carpet “script” as an artistic performance.

I think about the emotions I want to convey, down to the touch of perfume I'm going to wear on this occasion.

I want it to be a total experience.”

More than "style icons", it is the spirit of wildly emancipated women artists that she summons as inspiration: "That of Frida Kahlo, that of Edie Sedgwick", enthuses the one we will soon see on screen in

, from the director of

, or in a prestigious project by David O. Russell whose title is still kept secret, alongside Margot Robbie and Robert de Niro.

In the cinema, the actresses whose footsteps she would like to follow are also those who escape any categorization.

"Tilda Swinton, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, very talented actresses who choose very different roles," she said.

Impossible to attach a label to them.

I have a hard time with that, I can't stand the need that society has to put people in boxes, and I want to constantly stay away from it.

Extraordinary: a word that fits like a glove to Anya Taylor-Joy, rebel princess with fabulous talents.