Anya Taylor-Joy is one of the few, but increasing number of bonafide female superstars in Hollywood. Once upon a time, the industry was regularly criticized for a perceived poor representation of women in its arcs. Often used to inculcate glamor than a genuine vehicle for storytelling, times have indeed been changing, with a number of women-centric roles and projects giving them the kind of representation they have always deserved.
Sometimes, however, as Anya Taylor-Joy went in detail during an interview earlier this month, they still need to fight, in some ways, to ensure better contextual representation for their roles. Having portrayed a range of genuinely important roles in projects such as Furiosa, The Northman and The Witch, the actress went in detail over her fight for ‘better rage representation’ of women in these roles, especially with respect to the latter.
The result was exposure to the way that Anya-Taylor Joy has broadened the scope of her art, and gained the confidence to ‘stand her ground’ whenever she believes her characters are not being represented as well as they should be. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in particular, was in some ways a conclusion of a journey for the actress. She went out of her way multiple times in order to ensure that her character was represented aptly, and got the kind of importance it deserved.
Anya Taylor-Joy fights for logical female representation, which translated to ‘rage representation’ in Furiosa
The interview with GQ Magazine revealed in detail the kind of journey Anya Taylor-Joy has been on, in the industry, with respect to her characters. The movie, in which she played the younger version of Charlize Theron’s character as seen in the initial Mad: Max Fury Road, there were several scenes that the actress thought could be made better in order to ensure justice to her character.
This, rather than her promoting violence, was simply her way of ensuring the character responded with violence when ‘it was apt.’ Hence, when Furiosa confronted Dementus in the movie, Taylor-Joy ensured that the confrontation would be physical in nature:
It was really important to me that the confrontation between Furiosa and Dementus be a physical one, and that it was hard-won. 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.
As a matter of fact, she thought her character would want to cut out the Biker Horder leader’s tongue, which led to her convincing director George Miller to inculcate the scene, though it did not make it to the movie.
The actress explained that while she has been championing rage representation for her roles all her career, Furiosa in itself ‘unlocked something in her.’
George Miller was pleased with Anya Taylor-Joy’s contributions in Furiosa
While the tongue-cutting scene did not make it to the movie, the actress did receive a prop which she took home, and sits in a plastic box at her home. Taylor-Joy explained in the interview that while she had never been an ‘angry person,’ Furiosa effectively allowed her to be angry when she and her character deserved it:
For all my championing of female rage, I’ve never been an angry person. For a long time the only time I ever got angry was on other people’s behalfs. I’ve always internalised this thing of ‘I’ve done something wrong. If you treat me badly, it’s because I am the problem.’ And I’m so grateful for Furiosa, because there was a real moment where I started getting angry for myself.
This, obviously led to the movie and the character itself benefitting profusely, as George Miller explained the reason he had initially cast Taylor-Joy was because she had a ‘ferocity and discipline’ about her, which he suspected was a result of her training as a ballet dancer.
Hence, whatever Anya Taylor-Joy did differently with respect to ‘rage representation’ of Furiosa, the director was thankful for whenever he noticed the scrip-deviations in the cutting room:
She’s one of those great actors who’s resolute [and] incredibly protective of her character. Several times in the cutting room I said, ‘God, I’m so glad she did that.’
Hence, not only did Anya Taylor-Joy perfectly captured the essence of the character as George Miller envisioned it. She went further, and made the role better, by opting to act in ways that she thought made sense with respect to Furiosa, and all the mad situations she found herself in, in the movie.
Furiosa is out now in theatres.
