Anya Taylor-Joy Shares Furiosa Excitement: Matching Charlize Theron ‘Just Can’t Be Done’

"I fell in love with Furiosa because of the way Charlize presented her," Taylor-Joy says of "Fury Road."

It only took a day for Anya Taylor-Joy to break her silence about nabbing the coveted role of Furiosa in George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel, and the actress is predictably stunned she’ll get the chance to put her mark on one of the most iconic action heroes of the 21st Century. Taylor-Joy is set to lead the Furiosa movie opposite Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. In an interview on MTV’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, the actress discussed what it was like landing the role while filming Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” in Ireland.

“I am currently in Belfast shooting a movie and I was here when I saw ‘Fury Road’ for the first time,” Taylor-Joy said. “I walked passed the cinema where I first was amazed by this incredible mind of George Miller. It’s difficult to put into words. I feel so humbled and grateful. I think the first thing I thought was ‘I am so excited to work so hard.’ The level of commitment that has been shown by those who came before me, I endeavor to match that. That makes me really excited. I have so much respect for the originators of this crazy world and this collection of characters. I am excited to work really hard.”

Taylor-Joy is also the star of Edgar Wright’s upcoming psychological horror movie “Last Night in Soho,” and she revealed the filmmaker was one of the first people to text her with a congratulations.

“Edgar was the first to be like, ‘I am excited that I knew about this beforehand but now the world knows, Congratulations!'” the actress said, adding that she’s self-isolating while not on “The Northman” set and thus celebrated the Furiosa news by “watching ‘Harry Potter’ and eating great food by myself.”

Taking over the role of Furiosa means stepping into the shoes made famous by Charlize Theron, whose performance as the character in “Fury Road” ranks as one of the action genre’s best. Miller opted not to use de-aging VFX on Theron for the prequel and instead cast a younger actress. When asked how she plans to prep for Furiosa, Taylor-Joy responded that it starts with understanding she’ll never be able to match what Theron delivered.

“I fell in love with Furiosa because of the way Charlize presented her,” Taylor-Joy said. “She did such an incredible job. It was so beautiful. I can’t even think about trying to step into her shoes. It has to be something different because it just can’t be done.”

Taylor-Joy continued, “I’ve already started dreaming about [Furiosa] and she’s coming in very strong. I’m so committed to working as hard as possible as I can. I always said that I wanted a role that I would have to give everything to, it wouldn’t just be my mind but my body, what I’m doing with myself when I’m not on set. I’m so excited for that and to push myself past the limits of what my brain thought was possible.”

Next up for the actress is a starring role in the Netflix limited series “The Queen’s Gambit,” available to stream October 23. Taylor-Joy and Wright’s “Last Night in Soho” is currently on the release calendar for April 23, 2021 via Focus Features.

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