MARIE CLAIRE – Anya Taylor-Joy doesn’t consider herself to be a particularly competitive person…at least, not with other people. “I can be very, very hard on myself,” she says from a sun-drenched hotel room in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she’s been camped out since August filming Robert Eggers’ The Northman. She pauses to note the “miraculous” amount of light pouring in through the window, laughs, apologizes for interrupting herself, and then returns to her point: that she is perhaps her own greatest adversary.
DUJOUR – The American-born, English Argentine actress, Anya Taylor-Joy, who starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split and this year’s adaptation of Emma (she also had a recurring role on Peaky Blinders), is back in the spotlight with a new project: Netflix’s new original series The Queen’s Gambit.
Based on the 1983 book of the same name by Walter Tevis, the miniseries follows Beth Harmon, a young orphan in 1950s Kentucky, who is taught chess by the custodian at the orphanage. After the young girl’s gift is discovered and nurtured, a series of setbacks occurs until she’s adopted by a family which enables her to develop this gift and reach her full potential in the game. The series takes us from Kentucky to Paris, New York and Moscow following the talented young woman in her journey to become the best chess player in the world.
The 24-year-old actress talked to DuJour about why this role excited her and how 2020 has changed her.
Anya Taylor-Joy is posing for the newest edition of The Fall Magazine, wearing Miu Miu pieces. Enjoy!