Anya Taylor-Joy On Dance, Discipline & The Power Of Conviction

VOGUE HONG KONG – Anya Taylor-Joy has quickly become one of the most compelling actresses of her generation. Her upbringing across Argentina and London and her mixed heritage has infused her craft with a worldly insight. “I see everything as an opportunity to learn rather than an opportunity to judge.” she shares. “Life is more fun that way.”

Tucked away in the heart of downtown LA, a nondescript sliding gate gives way to a lofty, cavernous warehouse. There’s a makeshift classroom in one room. In another, shelves filled with stereo TVs. A vintage Cadillac Eldorado is stationed out back, gleaming in the California sun. This was the set of Anya Taylor-Joy’s cover shoot for Vogue Hong Kong – a shoot so groundbreaking that it was shaken by the 4.4 magnitude earthquake that also rattled the rest of Los Angeles.

Strolling on to the Vogue Hong Kong set, Taylor-Joy’s wide doe eyes reveal a piercing intensity. Stark blonde locks are contrasted with a delicate bounce and gentle curl. Her stately, elegant frame is punctuated by sharp angles – defined collarbones, a pointed jaw. And then she breaks into laughter, and all that felt untouchable is softened instantly by a wide, generous smile and sunny laugh. She’s barely had time to introduce herself, but her presence is undeniable.
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ELLE AUSTRALIA – Anya Taylor-Joy is on top of the world. As she takes her place in the new guard of Hollywood superstars, she speaks to Grace O’Neill about fashion, being a fish out of water and the unexpected joys of marriage.

It takes something—or someone—pretty formidable to overshadow Anya Taylor-Joy, one of her generation’s most talented actors and, as of this year, a newly minted Hollywood megastar. Still, as the crew gathers to begin shooting this ELLE Australia cover, everyone only has eyes for a long-haired chihuahua puppy that must weigh in at less than a kilogram. “This is Bartok the Magnificent,” declares Taylor-Joy as we sit down for our interview. The new puppy, who she picked up only two days ago, is nestled sleepily in her lap. His name is taken from the 1997 animated movie Anastasia, a historical fantasy about the murder of Russia’s imperial family in the 1920s. Bartok the Magnificent is a street-performing albino bat and sidekick of the vengeful sorcerer Rasputin. This anecdote might go some way to capturing the magic of Anya Taylor-Joy, who is fiercely talented, bitingly intelligent and face-from-the-gods beautiful, but also a little bit off-the-wall, in the way the best people always are.

“My husband and I definitely wanted to get more animals,” the 28-year-old says. (Taylor-Joy and her husband, musician Malcolm McRae, already have a cat, a ragdoll called Kitsune, who Taylor-Joy adopted while in Australia filming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga). “We were going to get a bigger dog, but our friend sent us a picture of [Bartok] and was like, ‘I just feel like this is your baby.’ We went back and forth on it a lot, because this was happening during the Furiosa press tour, and I was like, I don’t know how I’m going to cope with it. But now he’s here, and, you know what? He’s so good. And he’s really, really brave. I continue to be afraid by how tiny he is, but he runs up to all the other dogs and just wants to play. He’s dreamy, amazing.” He’s also a surprisingly adept model. And who better to lens your first fashion shoot than world-renowned photographer Pamela Hanson?
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