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Anya Taylor-Joy doesn't believe women have the same freedom to 'method act' as men
Method acting, in which an actor fully immerses themselves in a character’s life, psychology, and circumstances rather than just “pretending” to be them, has been championed by the likes of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale, Joaquin Phoenix, and many more.
You’ll notice, though, that there aren’t any actresses’ names on that list of famed method actors. Anya Taylor-Joy certainly has.
Actress Anya Taylor-Joy says that women don’t method act because they “have things to take care of” and can’t “lose their minds” on set
It’s another busy year for Taylor-Joy, who has established herself as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young actresses since the start of the decade.
During a recent interview with Complex, the 30-year-old Furiosa and The Menu star detailed why she believes that women don’t have the same freedom to “method act” as men do. According to Taylor-Joy, “women don’t method act because we have things to take care of.”
“If you’ll notice, women don’t method act because we have things to take care of, so we can’t completely lose our minds. I see acting as a controlled psychosis in a way. You’re pretending to be somebody else and having their thoughts 16 hours a day and moving like them, in their house, in their clothes. It’s like having a sister or a roommate check in up [in my mind] for a little bit,” the former The Queen’s Gambit breakout said.
“I’m just very grateful that the people in my life understand that and know that. Sometimes if it gets out of hand, they’ll call me by the character name and they’ll be like ‘we need to check in again.’ But I can’t imagine keeping it up all the time because, again, you’re going to work with hundreds of people and it is your responsibility to be good to them and to help them do their best job. If you’re too invested in being an a—— then that’s not gonna be very fun.”
Earlier this year, she reprised her voice role as Princess Peach in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which grossed over $1 billion at the box office. Her new AppleTV series Lucky premiered last month, and she’ll next be seen starring as Alia Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated Dune: Part Three.
She also has a starring role in the film Sacrifice alongside Chris Evans, Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, Ambika Mod, Sam Richardson, Charli XCX, Yung Lean and John Malkovich, which was acquired by Netflix at the Cannes Film Festival back in May.
In Sacrifice, Taylor-Joy stars as Joan, a zealot who abducts washed-up actor Mike Tyler (Chris Evans) and two others, believing sacrificing them will save humanity from a “fiery reckoning.”