Anya Taylor-Joy has explained that she always tries to reason for better reactions than crying scenes for women.

Anya Taylor-Joy is a true powerhouse, and her upcoming role in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel following the titular character. The actress notes that she’s always fighting for the characters she plays to have other reactions than crying.

Anya Taylor-Joy has been acting for a decade, but her breakout role was in Robert Eggers’ fantasy horror, The Witch, in 2015. However, the actress, who was unknown at the time, revealed that she had to stand her ground when it comes to her characters’ reactions. She explained that the word that connects her to the characters she plays is “defiance,” and that she learned to stand her ground.

Speaking with British GQ, Taylor-Joy explained that her difficult childhood has taught her to stand up for herself. “As a survival mechanism you learn to be self-effacing and self-deprecating. You bury yourself before anybody else does,” she says. Having moved all over the world when she was young, it was hard for her to connect with people, and her ethereal appearance and lack of understanding of the culture led to bullying. “What I’m coming to understand is: as long as you’re not causing anyone else harm, you have to stand your ground.”

“I’ve developed a bit of a reputation for fighting for feminine rage, which is a strange thing, because I’m not promoting violence – but I am promoting women being seen as people. We have reactions that are not always dainty or unmessy,” the actress explained.

She did that with her very first role in The Witch. Her character, Thomasin, was dragged into the yard and accused of being evil. She was supposed to cry, but the actress couldn’t do it. “Eventually I said, ‘She’s angry; she’s fucking pissed. She’s been blamed time and time again, and she’s not doing anything. We have to stop with the crying.’” The change of energy set the tone for the rest of the movie, and Taylor-Joy explained, “I feel so happy for her. Girl, fly, do your thing. Live deliciously, you’ve earned it. This world is not for you. I love the ending of that film.”

This wasn’t the only time she had to change a crying scene, the actress explains. It also happened on the set of the critically acclaimed The Menu, in 2022. Taylor-Joy’s character was initially supposed to shed a single tear when finding out her date brought her to the restaurant to die. “What planet are we living on? I was like, ‘Let me explain to you: I am going to leap across the table and try and literally kill him with my bare hands.’” She noted that director Mark Mylod and her co-star, Nicholas Hoult, agreed with her views.

Anya Taylor-Joy reunited with The Witch‘s director on The Northman, and she had more valuable input for the film. “It was Anya’s idea for Olga to douse her hand with her own menstrual blood before slapping Fjölnir in the face,” Eggers explained, recalling it as a “very strong, defiant and memorable choice

Furiosa’s Director Appreciated Anya Taylor-Joy’s Changes

Anya Taylor-Joy leads the upcoming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. However, her character, a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character from Mad Max: Fury Road, is a woman of few words. It has been revealed the actress has only around 30 lines of dialogue in the entire film. Instead, it focuses on her actions, reactions, and expressions, something that Taylor-Joy has mastered throughout her career.

Speaking to the same outlet, Furiosa‘s director, George Miller, appreciated how involved Taylor-Joy was in changing things that didn’t work for her character. “She’s one of those great actors who’s resolute [and] incredibly protective of her character,” he tells me. “Several times in the cutting room I said, ‘God, I’m so glad she did that.’”

“It was really important to me that the confrontation between Furiosa and Dementus be a physical one, and that it was hard-won,” Taylor-Joy explained. “It needed it; she needed it. I think there is something in seeing this person turn to something more carnal within herself, where you feel a little conflicted because you are complicit in it… There was a relief when it was done.”

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will hit theaters on May 24, 2024.