‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Star Anya Taylor-Joy Shared Her Biggest Irrational Fear: ‘People Will See Me Tense Up’
An Emmy Awards favorite, Anya Taylor-Joy charmed audiences with her performance in The Queen’s Gambit. Before landing the breakout role in the TV series, she had quite a run in the horror genre as Thomasin in 2015’s The Witch and as Casey in Split. Taylor-Joy may have a penchant for thrillers and scary stuff on camera, but in real life, there’s one thing that really frightens her.
Anya Taylor-Joy once revealed her fear of revolving doors
During a chat with W Magazine back in 2017 about her career, Taylor-Joy spoke about what it’s like tapping into her emotions to play dark roles or deal with a heavy story. However, she answered a playful question about irrational fears.
“My biggest irrational fear: revolving doors,” she admitted. “Revolving doors have always freaked me out, and I’m not even claustrophobic. It’s just the speed that it’s going around. And I’m consistently worried that I’m not going to make it, so it’s going to cut me half or something. I just avoid, go through the other door immediately. People around me will literally see me just tense up, hold my hands, and be like, ‘It’s fine. It’s fine.’”
Interestingly, it’s a fear that she has in common with another actor — Matthew McConaughey.
Taylor-Joy called herself a scaredy cat
While discussing her track record of horror/thrillers, Taylor-Joy shared that she doesn’t really watch scary movies. She’d rather immerse herself in one as an actor because it’s a different experience.
“I’m a real scaredy-cat. I’m not good at being scared. It just freaks me out,” said Taylor-Joy. “Actually, acting in a horror movie, you get to feel so much more intensely. Your brackets of acceptable emotion are so much wider, you get to really purge yourself of any emotions that you have — put yourself in some really intense situations. After a big emotional scene, I get to go home and get a good night’s sleep.”
Another horror flick is on her schedule
Taylor-Joy has at least one other project coming up where fans will get to see her be afraid. The Golden Globe winner has been cast in The Menu, a horror-comedy that also stars Nicholas Hoult, Ralph Fiennes, and Judith Light.
Per Variety, the movie is directed by Mark Mylod, and the story centers on the world of culinary sophistication where questionable things show up on the menu. According to the logline, “A young couple travel to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.”
Taylor-Joy is currently filming The Menu. While it’s unclear whether there will be a season 2 for The Queen’s Gambit, fans can catch the actor next in Last Night in Soho. Described as a psychological horror movie, it takes her character Eloise into the seedy depths of 1960s London through the magic of time travel.
The film arrives in theaters on Oct. 29. In the meantime, stream The Queen’s Gambit Season 1 on Netflix.
