Anya Taylor-Joy made a reputation for herself six years ago with The Witch, but it was The Queen’s Gambit that catapulted her to stardom. Her forthcoming projects include a Mad Max spin-off starring Young Furiosa, a David O. Russell feature starring Margot Robbie and Christian Bale, and another with her Witch director Robert Eggers. (Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, meantime, has yet to be released.) Mega-fame, on the other hand, has both benefits and drawbacks. And in the latter column, she can’t be a blubbery mess on aircraft anymore.
In a new interview with InStyle (as seen on Vanity Fair), the actress discusses a variety of topics, including how her newfound celebrity has gotten in the way of her acting process, particularly the point where she’s just done a job.
“I used to hysterically sob on planes as my form of therapy of leaving jobs behind,” she told the publication. “I would put on a dramatic movie and be like, ‘OK, tonight we cry!’ But I can’t sob on planes anymore without people being concerned for my well-being. Someone will be like, ‘Are you OK?’”
When she does get into a semi-public crying jag, she has to assure them, “No, this is good. It’s good crying. It’s all good tears, I swear!”
The actress, who won an Emmy for her Gambit, also says her boundless energy has even been put to the test. “I really struggle with wanting to give everybody everything all of the time,” she says. “One of the things that I’ve learned recently is you have to do what makes you feel good, not what other people tell you should make you feel good. If you spend what little time you have off only doing things out of obligation, your soul suffers from it.”
That said, Taylor-Joy knows she has it good. She says she has “great friends who tease me mercilessly if I even hint at being overworked or stressed. They’re like, ‘Oh yeah, honey, it’s so sad that you have to go get on a plane and go do whatever.’ It’s all in good fun, but they’re right, I’m very lucky. I’m very privileged. It’s so much, but it’s still so bizarre.”
