Here's How Anya Taylor-Joy Really Scored The Role Of Furiosa
While the "Mad Max" series was already decades old at the time of its release, 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road" helped reinvigorate the film franchise, thanks in part to its introduction of Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). At first, the film seems to belong to longtime franchise lead Max Rockatansky, a role that was once Mel Gibson's, but is portrayed by Tom Hardy in "Fury Road." Early on in the film, however, Hardy's Max takes the backseat to Theron's Furiosa, whom the film's story largely revolves around.
The character is currently slated to return in a "Fury Road" prequel film titled "Furiosa." Starring in the film as a younger version of Furiosa will be Anya Taylor-Joy, known for her work as the star of the Netflix chess drama, "The Queen's Gambit," as well as the spooky colonial thriller, "The Witch," to name just a few of her more well-known projects (via IMDb).
Although the "Furiosa" prequel film's release date is still far off — filming is only set to begin next year (via Deadline) — Taylor-Joy is also the star of the upcoming psychological thriller, "Last Night in Soho." As a result of Taylor-Joy's central roles in both films, the press tour for "Last Night in Soho" has occasionally provided some exciting insight into "Furiosa," including how Taylor-Joy actually secured the titular role in the upcoming "Fury Road" prequel.
Edgar Wright recommended Anya Taylor-Joy to Furiosa director George Miller
As part of its issue about "Last Night in Soho" director Edgar Wright, Empire Magazine set up a conversation between Wright and "Mad Max" creator George Miller about their respective filmographies. During their conversation, the two directors discussed the process through which Miller cast Anya Taylor-Joy in "Furiosa."
"I'd known about Anya but I'd never seen her in a film until I saw her in 'Soho,'" Miller said, describing his experience watching an early cut of the Wright-directed film. "I remember thinking, 'Gee, she's interesting.' I started to say to you, 'I'm looking for someone to cast as Furiosa,' and I barely got the sentence out before you said, 'Don't go any further, she's great, she's gonna be huge. She's fantastic to work with.' You were so emphatic about it."
Following his conversation with Wright, Miller asked Taylor-Joy to recite the iconic "Mad as H**l" speech from the 1976 film, "Network." After her initial take, Miller says he "gave her just a couple of simple notes about intention" and revealed that Taylor-Joy "just absolutely nailed [it]." The director rounded out the story, adding, "I think it was done on an iPhone. I sent it to the studio. I explained why I thought she was right for the role. I said I was really happy to talk about it but it was so persuasive that we didn't need to talk."
Now, Taylor-Joy is set to become the second actor to portray Imperator Furiosa. However, fans will have to wait until "Furiosa" is actually released to see how her and Charlize Theron's interpretations of the character ultimately differ.