Anya Taylor-Joy's love of animals led to her acting career
Los Angeles, July 2
Hollywood actress Anya Taylor-Joy has shared the reason behind her taking up the profession of acting.
The actress has shared that she went into acting because she wanted to "ride" a whale, reports 'Female First UK'.
The 30-year-old star was fascinated by large animals when she was growing up and after initially setting her sights on a "made-up job" studying her favourite creatures, she was then inspired to change direction after watching the 1993 family drama 'Free Willy', which tells the story of a young orphan and his friendship with a captive orca.
Discussing what she would have done if she hadn't been an actress, Anya told Extra, "I really wanted to be a made-up job, which was a large animal biologist. I really wanted to work with tigers and orcas, and I needed to find a job that like combined those two mammals together. So, I think I'd probably be working in some sort of conservationism or I'd be a travel journalist. I wanted to be an actor because I saw 'Free Willy'. I wanted to be the kid that rode the whale".
As per 'Female First UK', 'The Queen's Gambit' star can next be seen in Lucky, playing the titular con artist, who goes on the run after a heist goes wrong.
But Anya didn't have to undergo much training for the physical scenes because she and director Jonathan Van Tullekin felt it was important to show her character's lack of natural athleticism.
She added, "For Lucky because she's not somebody who is naturally that athletic. The director Jonathan Van Tulleken and I talked a lot about kind of trying to do everything as badly as you could so that the audience feels a real sense of risk and they feel like you're really getting by on the skin of your teeth. So, it was fun".
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting how Hollywood stars have such creative origin stories. In Bollywood, most actors say they wanted to be actors since childhood or come from film families. Anya's reason is refreshingly different – large animal biologist to movie star! That's some transition. Also, 'The Queen's Gambit' was brilliant.
Never thought I'd hear 'I became an actor to ride a whale' but here we are 😂 It's cute though. Shows how childhood dreams can take unexpected turns. And her approach to playing Lucky – trying to do things badly on purpose – sounds interesting. Can't wait to see that movie!
While it's a charming story, I sometimes think Western media tends to romanticize career choices. In India, we have our own struggles with career paths, but Anya's honesty about not being naturally athletic is refreshing. Most actors try to pretend they're perfect at everything. Respect for keeping it real 🙌
I love how 'large animal biologist' was her made-up dream job – that's so specific! As someone who works in conservation here in India, I can say it's not easy. But her pivot to acting worked out well. 'The Queen's Gambit' was phenomenal. Good luck with 'Lucky'!
The fact that she wanted to combine working with tigers and orcas is so random but adorable 😊 In India, kids often emulate Bollywood heroes, but Anya found inspiration in a movie about a whale. Different worlds, same magic of cinema. Hope she does some conservation work too – she seems genuinely passionate!
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.