Anya Taylor-Joy is booked and busy.
Since February 2020, the Menu star has released seven movies, made two seasons of television and hosted Saturday Night Live. She’s also tracked a voice role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and shot George Miller’s highly anticipated prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa. In her latest film, The Menu, Taylor-Joy plays Margot, an enigmatic young woman who accompanies a try-hard foodie named Tyler (Nicholas Hoult) to a high-end restaurant on a remote island where renown chef Julian Slowick (Ralph Fiennes) is hosting an unforgettable dining experience.
Related Stories
While it’s best to know as little as possible about director Mark Mylod’s The Menu, it’s largely about a disenchanted artist, and Taylor-Joy can’t help but draw parallels to this prolific run of work she’s been on since bursting onto the scene with Robert Eggers’ The Witch (2015).
“All these characters were coming to me that I needed to play, and now, having done this for seven years, I’m in a position where I have to be way more picky about what I choose,” Taylor-Joy tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I do think that one can spend their passion, and you want to make sure that you’re putting your passion into things that you care about so that it’s actually refueling that well rather than just taking from you. I never want to fall out of love with my art.”
Taylor-Joy’s schedule has been so hectic that she had to shoot some of her scenes for the final season of Peaky Blinders, remotely.
“I was shooting Amsterdam [in Los Angeles], and it was actually quite amazing because my wonderful scene partner and friend, Finn Cole, was in England. And so we actually did a lot of our scenes not together,” Taylor-Joy explains. “It was just me acting to empty space and watching a scene that Finn had done and trying to do my reaction based off of that, which was a really interesting way of working.”
Having just wrapped Furiosa a couple weeks ago in Australia, Taylor-Joy is still trying to make sense of the transformative experience she just had, but it certainly lived up to its billing.
“It will take me the full two years before the movie comes out to even begin to process what I just left 12 days ago. [Furiosa] was the most life-changing experience that I’ve ever had, with such talented artists. I really felt like I grew so much, but yes, it’s wild. It’s utterly unique,” Taylor-Joy shares.
In a recent conversation with THR, Taylor-Joy also discusses what Fury Road star Hoult had to say to her before she ventured off into the Mad Max Wasteland.
So I know that you’re not fond of labels, but would you remotely categorize yourself as a foodie?
Only in the sense that I love food and I enjoy eating. That’s kind of the issue with me being a foodie, though. I get really “hanxious,” which is hungry-anxious. So I will eat anything to fill that void. I’m not sure that I would wait for ages for a particularly excellent meal, but I love good food, yes. But a foodie? Possibly not.
Is there a certain food that you get rather particular about in terms of how it’s cooked or prepared?
I really love Barrosa cheese. If it’s the slightly sour kind, I’m not that much about it; I am a little bit disappointed by it. But it’s honestly as simple as olive oil, balsamic and salt, and then I’m good to go.
The first thing I glommed onto with Margot is that she always looks for the exits in any given situation.
Thank you! I’m glad you noticed.
What do you attribute this to?
She’s a highly independent woman, and the thing that I loved so much about Margot upon reading the script was that she is an enigma to the audience. There’s almost a performance within a performance throughout this film, so I needed to figure out who she was at her core. And then I could add the extra layer on top of that and decide when I wanted the curtain to lift or drop. The exit sign thing is because she’s just very, very independent and has learned not to rely on other people. It’s not necessarily out of trauma; that’s just who she is. She likes her time alone, and she wants to be in control of the situations that she finds herself in.
Julian Slowick is a disenchanted artist, which is putting it mildly.
(Laughs.)
He’s fallen out of love with his art form. Did this movie make you more mindful of protecting your own love for creating art?
Not particularly this movie, but since the very beginning, I’ve always worked back to back. Originally, I just thought that was the way that it went for all actors. All these characters were coming to me that I needed to play, and now, having done this for seven years, I’m in a position where I have to be way more picky about what I choose. I do think that one can spend their passion, and you want to make sure that you’re putting your passion into things that you care about so that it’s actually refueling that well rather than just taking from you. So that’s changed the way that I look at things now because I never want to fall out of love with my art. I’m so in love with it. It’s the most sacred relationship that I have, and the idea of being disenchanted or ungrateful for it would just break my heart.
You’ve acted opposite some stellar actors in your career, and this movie is no exception. So how would you describe a scene with Ralph Fiennes?
He’s just beautiful in every way. He’s such a talented actor in that whatever he wants to transmute onto the screen, he will achieve it in spades. Maybe it was because of the characters we were playing or the relationship that we have, but I just find him deeply comforting. I feel very comfortable and taken care of when I’m with Ralph. We both enjoyed the bizarre intimacy of our scenes together because you can’t quite put a label on it. It’s just a deep kinship, and we united in our passion, love, and sacredness that we feel for our art. We were kindred spirits in that sense.
I normally wouldn’t ask about hair, but I know you put a lot of thought into your choices.
(Laughs.)
So what inspired that particular color in this case?
That one was just a feeling. The Queen’s Gambit was definitely a feeling, but there was a very specific cinematography choice with it. With Margot, I just saw the whole look. So when I was put in touch with the costume designer, Amy [Westcott], the first thing I said was that I know exactly what the outfit is. If you want to get really nerdy about it, Margot doesn’t have that much money. So in my head, she’s got one dress. It’s slightly sexy, but still acceptable. She’s had a leather jacket that she’s had since she was 16 years old. It’s her go-to and her protection and it’s really worn in. She’s also wearing big chunky boots because she would never be able to afford Louboutins, nor would she want to be on a razor edge. She wants to be sturdy. And with all of that together, that kind of color just seemed right. It was the right level of edgy and harsh, but also just quite natural.
So was there a point where Nick Hoult offered to give you a crash course on the George Miller experience?
(Laughs.) He was just so beautifully supportive. We really love each other. We’ve become brilliant friends, and because he knew that I was going to do [Furiosa] almost immediately afterwards, his only words of advice were, “You’ve got this. You’re going to be fine. Trust me, it’s going to be great, and I, for one, am really excited to see it.” So having that voice of reassurance and support was just really helpful.
Was the experience as insanely beautiful as you thought it would be?
It will take me the full two years before the movie comes out to even begin to process what I just left 12 days ago. [Furiosa] was the most life-changing experience that I’ve ever had, with such talented artists. I really felt like I grew so much, but yes, it’s wild. It’s utterly unique.
So you’ve talked in the past about how profound the experience of making The Witch was for you. That set became like a family. Were you able to recapture that at all on The Northman, or did Covid protocols prevent that kind of connection?
My role in The Northman wasn’t that large; I just wanted to be back with my family. When Robert [Eggers] asked me, he was like, “Please come and do this with me.” And so anytime I wasn’t in front of camera, I was just running around everywhere because I thrive off of difficult landscapes. I thrive off of difficult shooting conditions, and sometimes, when you enter into a Robert Eggers’ world, you’re not quite prepared for how difficult the elements are going to be. So I very gleefully took the title of a cheerleader and I just ran around everywhere saying, “Isn’t this incredible? We get to make this unbelievable art. Yes, our feet are freezing. Yes, it’s minus whatever degrees and we’re in the ocean for hour seven, but this is amazing. Let’s just enjoy it.” So I loved it. And I got to live with [The Witch co-star] Kate Dickie again. We have lived together on and off since we met, and she’s my person. So it was beautiful.
We never saw Gina Gray’s reaction to Michael’s (Finn Cole) death, so do you know if you’re going to pop up in the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie?
I have no idea. I’ve been away in the desert for such a long time that I’m barely acclimatizing to seeing people who aren’t covered in dirt, blood or scars. (Laughs.) So I have no idea, but she is definitely a trip. I find it difficult to watch myself in that role because Gina produces something quite (Taylor-Joy makes a guttural sound.) in me. (Laughs.) So who knows where she’s going.
You’re one of the most sought-after actors in the world right now, so was it quite a challenge to figure out the scheduling on Peaky’s final season?
Yes, unbelievably so. I was shooting Amsterdam [in Los Angeles], and it was actually quite amazing because my wonderful scene partner and friend, Finn Cole, was in England. And so we actually did a lot of our scenes not together. It was just me acting to empty space and watching a scene that Finn had done and trying to do my reaction based off of that, which was a really interesting way of working. But it was quite incredible in the sense of what is achievable nowadays with technology. It’s also a lot of planes.
Which Scott is next for you: Frank [Laughing in the Dark] or Derrickson [The Gorge]?
Derrickson is next, which I’m very excited about. But Scott Frank is my father, essentially. So I can’t wait to be back together with him. I’m really looking forward to both experiences, and I feel like a very, very lucky girl.
So how’s Casey Cooke doing? Have you checked in with her lately?
(Laughs.) God, I hope she’s happy. I hope someone has given her a break. I hope that she’s just more comfortable in her own skin. I could potentially see her helping other kids in foster care or something like that, and giving that sort of love to people that have also been broken. So I hope that she feels at peace and is taking care of herself.
I’m still struck by a story you once told about M. Night Shyamalan. He gave you a note that said something to the effect of, “Cry Casey’s tears, not your own.”
Yeah, my entire approach to acting has changed since that moment. That’s my whole philosophy, really.
You touched on this earlier, but at the Last Night in Soho junket, you told me that you shot multiple projects in a row with one day off in between each. And then you went on to make multiple other projects from that point. So have you had the chance to get a proper rest yet?
Not really. At the risk of this sounding like a therapy session, I definitely need to take more time to check in with myself. I never had any intention of being a method actor, but the more movies I do, the line is getting blurrier and blurrier. I’m finding it harder to disconnect between what is occurring for my [character] and what is occurring for me. It’s never a problem on set because I like to make my sets a really happy and supportive place to be. It’s more when I go home; I just have all of these feelings. I’m either trying to pinpoint them in my own life or I’m carrying traits from somebody else that just aren’t me at all. So I think I need to spend a bit more time learning how to put a barrier up because it is dissolving at an alarming rate. (Laughs.)
Decades from now, when you reminisce about the making of The Menu, what day will you likely recall first?
So we all did a lot of improvisation, and my improv that I’m most proud of is a bit of action. It’s a physicality element because I’m very drawn to the subject of feminine rage right now. I was very tired of reading scripts where people, men mostly, do terrible things to women, and they sit silently, cry a single tear and don’t do anything. And so I went up to [director] Mark [Mylod] and I said, “This is what I think she would do in this situation. May I try it?” Nick [Hoult] was also down to do it, so we did it, and it was just electric. It was so much fun. And when I saw that it ended up in the movie, I was so happy. So I’ll probably recall that day and how game Nick was to just kind of take it, take after take. (Laughs.)
Lastly, are the chess match challenges getting out of control?
People are genuinely surprised that I don’t travel with [a chess board] underneath my arm at all times. It is quite strange and I hope I never disappoint people, but you have to learn new skills for these new jobs. And so the second I finished Queen’s Gambit, I became very, very good at cold weather exposure because I had to be. And the second that was done, I got very good at guns and cars and motorcycles. So I hope I never disappoint anybody by not playing them.
***
The Menu opens in theaters on Nov. 18. This interview was edited for length and clarity.
