Anya Taylor-Joy may be one of the most in-demand actresses of this time, but her career almost took a wildly different turn. Though her big breakthrough role was in 2015’sThe Witch,Taylor-Joy revealed in an interview that she almost took a Disney Channel pilot instead.
Taylor-Joy has been in some big projects since she appeared inThe Witch.In addition to her starring role in last year’sLast Night in Soho,Taylor-Joy will be appearing as Furiosain the film of the same name, which serves as a prequel toMad Max: Fury Road.She will also be lending her vocal talents toThe Super Mario Bros. Movie,where she’ll be playing Princess Peach.
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In an interview withHarper’s Bazaar, however, Taylor-Joy revealed she might have had a very different career. On the same day that she was asked to be inThe Witch,she had also been asked to be in a Disney Channel pilot. “I remember it was the same day I got asked to be in a Disney Channel pilot, and it was so exciting to be offered anything at all that I ran around the house like a loon," Taylor-Joy recalled. “But I just had this really good feeling aboutThe Witchthat made me willing to forego the Disney experience for the thing that felt unknown to me, the thing that felt sacred.”
Taylor-Joy went on to say that working onThe Witchwas an important lesson for her. “It gave me the cornerstones of the way I work now, which is essentially the idea that there is no hierarchy on set: you work hard, you stay on top of the shots and you don’t assume anyone else is going to do that for you,” Taylor-Joy says in the story. “Your title doesn’t stop at actor – you’re a creative on this film, and that’s how you need to approach it.
Had Taylor-Joy signed on for the Disney Channel pilot, her career might have gone very differently. In addition toThe Witchserving as a formative experience for her, Disney Channel usually steers their talent away from starring in more adult content. For Taylor-Joy, who’s known for her work ondark thrillers likeThoroughbredsand horror films, the experience probably would have meant she could not take those roles.
2015 is almost a decade ago, now, though. Who knows what would have happened after a hypothetical Disney career? PerhapsTaylor-Joy would still have landed the role of Furiosain theMad Maxprequel. One thing’s for sure:The Witchwould have been a very different movie without Taylor-Joy in it.
