Anya Taylor-Joy on advocating for depicting ‘female rage’ on screen

Actress Anya Taylor-Joy has recently discussed her motivations for ensuring that several of her characters exhibit anger on screen.

In an extensive interview for a GQ cover story, the Emmy-nominated actress shared occasions where she advocated for altering an emotional scene from her character crying to one expressing anger.

"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," Anya elaborated. "We have reactions that are not always dainty or unmessy."

The first instance where the actress championed "female rage" was during her debut in Robert Eggers' film "The Witch". Her character, Thomasin, was originally scripted to cry when dragged from the family's farmyard and accused of being the malevolent force in the house. However, Anya found herself unable to cry, prompting her to question the necessity of tears in that scene.

"Eventually I said, 'She's angry; she's pissed. She's been blamed time and time again, and she's not doing anything. We have to stop with the crying,'" she remembered telling Eggers.

While the director approved her modified suggestion, Anya mentioned that the experience taught her a valuable lesson about advocating for herself on set.

"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," Anya spoke about her character.

In 2022's "The Menu", the actress again pushed for changes when her character was supposed to shed a tear after discovering her date had knowingly taken her to the restaurant where they were meant to die. She questioned the script, asking, "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,'" said Anya adding that fortunately, director Mark Mylod and co-star Nicholas Hoult were receptive to the changes.

When Eggers and Taylor-Joy reunited for their second film, "The Northman", the director mentioned to the magazine that he was open to her suggestions. Particularly, during a scene when her character had to deter a man from touching her without consent.

"It was Anya's idea for Olga to douse her hand with her own menstrual blood before slapping Fjölnir in the face," Eggers said, acknowledging that the scene became a "very strong, defiant, and memorable choice."

In her latest project, George Miller's "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga", Anya similarly advocated for elements that felt authentic to her character. Recently, she mentioned to The New York Times, "There's one scream in that movie, and I am not joking when I tell you that I fought for that scream for three months."

While Anya recognises that ultimately the director makes the final decision, Miller told GQ, "Several times in the cutting room I said, 'God, I'm so glad she did that.'"

"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 behalf. 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," Anya Taylor-Joy expressed.

"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" is currently being screened worldwide, including in theaters across Bangladesh.

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