Anya Taylor-Joy reveals she almost quit acting before landing the starring role in 'The Queen's Gambit'
Anya Taylor-Joy revealed that she considered quitting acting before landing the starring role in "The Queen's Gambit."
In a new interview with Elle, 25-year-old Taylor-Joy opened up about being bullied growing up and how acting became a necessary passion.
"Much the same way as Beth needed chess, I needed acting," Taylor-Joy said. "I needed to believe in a place where I could be valued and appreciated, and actually have something to contribute rather than constantly feeling like, 'What is wrong with me, and why do I not fit in?'"
But the Golden Globe winner said she almost stepped away from acting for a time. Taylor-Joy told Elle that in 2019, she had just finished working on two projects simultaneously and was dealing with "emotional relationship stuff."
"I had been working back-to-back — just before 'Emma,' I'd done two projects at the same time, and I was going through some emotional relationship stuff," Taylor-Joy said.
She continued: "So at the beginning of 2019, I was just really broken and frightened of everything, and Mia and I were driving back from rehearsal. I turned to her and said, 'I think I'm going to quit acting. I don't think I can do this.' And I've never seen Mia look so worried in my life. She was like, 'But…that's what you do. You can't not…what are you talking about?' I was like, 'I think I need to back out now and just let it be and try to take care of my heart.' And she was like, 'No, that would be really bad. You can't not have the thing that is your oxygen.'"
Taylor-Joy added that she's "really glad" she Goth shared the advice.
In February, Taylor-Joy donned a green sleeveless gown when she won Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. She was also nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy for "Emma."
While speaking with Deadline that month, Taylor-Joy touched on the fanfare around "The Queen's Gambit" and a potential second season.
"It's so surreal and very wonderful that people want a second season," said Taylor-Joy. "We never thought about it, there was no discussion about it. That said, never say 'never' in Hollywood. It would be very interesting to see how Beth would be as a mother, now that she's sober and more cognizant of the demons that pull her down."