She received critical acclaim for her role in Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, and is set to play a younger Charlize Theron in the upcoming Mad Max prequel.
But Anya Taylor-Joy has revealed that she doesn’t see herself as ‘beautiful enough’ to be cast in films, and has even gone as far as to brand herself ‘ugly’.
‘I have never and I don’t think I will ever think of myself as beautiful,’ The Sun quotes the striking actress, 24, as saying. ‘I don’t think I’m beautiful enough to be in films.’
Beautiful: Anya Taylor-Joy has revealed that she doesn’t see herself as ‘beautiful enough’ to be cast in films, and has even gone as far as to brand herself ‘ugly’. Pictured in February
She continued: ‘It sounds pathetic and my boyfriend warns me people will think I’m an absolute d*** for saying these things, but I just think I’m weird-looking.
‘I won’t go to the cinema to watch my own film, I’ll watch it before. The beauty of being in your own skin is that you don’t have to look at your own face.’
The actress went on to admit that she ‘genuinely had a panic attack’ when she was cast in the titular role on the movie adaptation of the Jane Austen Emma.
Leading lady: She received critical acclaim for her role in Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit (pictured), and is set to play a younger Charlize Theron in the upcoming Mad Max prequel
She explained of her feelings at the time: ‘I thought, “I am the first ugly Emma and I can’t do this”, because the first line in the movie is, “I’m handsome, clever and rich”.’
Anya recently revealed that she ‘certainly’ would do a second season of hit Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit, based on a book by American author Walter Tevis.
In season one, the actress played Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy and orphan from Kentucky whose genius is never in doubt.
Speaking to Town & Country, Anya said: ‘If I’ve learned anything from being in this industry, it’s never say never.
Striking: ‘I have never and I don’t think I will ever think of myself as beautiful,’ The Sun quotes the striking actress, 24, as saying. ‘I don’t think I’m beautiful enough to be in films’
‘I adore the character, and I would certainly come back if I was asked to, but I do think we leave Beth in a good place.
‘I think the rest of her life will surely be an adventure as well, but in the quest that she goes on in this to find some form of peace, just some form of being able to be happy with who she is. I think it ends in a nice place.’
The Queen’s Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings, and is the moved used by Beth at the conclusion of the seven-part series.
The Netflix show has gained fans among both chess professionals, for the authenticity of the game strategies, and fashionistas for the stunning Sixties styling.
Panic: The actress went on to admit that she ‘had a panic attack’ when she was cast in the titular role on the movie adaptation of the Jane Austen Emma because of how she saw herself
Anya has a photographic memory, which is surely handy for scripts, and describes herself as ‘an empath’ — someone who feels others’ emotions to an intense degree.
She her character Beth, she admitted: ‘By the time I got to playing her I didn’t have the energy to create a wall between me and her. So, if she was having a bad day, I was having a bad day.’
The American-born, English-Argentine star was the star of an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma which was released this spring.
Born in Miami, Anya is the youngest of six children and was raised in Argentina. Her father is a banker who races speedboats and her mother is a photographer.
Another round: Anya recently revealed that she ‘certainly’ would do a second season of hit Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit, based on a book by American author Walter Tevis
Aged six, the family moved to London’s Knightsbridge and she went to Hill House prep school and then Queen’s Gate School.
She said: ‘Argentina is all green and I had horses and animals everywhere. All of a sudden I was in big city and I didn’t speak the language.’
The actress describes her ‘mash up’ of identities, with a British sense of humour combined with ‘Argentine warmth… I hug everybody. I’m very effusive.’
Anya was scouted to be a model and left school at 16 to pursue acting. Before Emma, she had various small parts, including one in the X-Men spin-off film The New Mutants.
At present, she is in Belfast filming a lead role in The Northman opposite Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard.
First heard: At present, she is in Belfast filming a lead role in The Northman opposite Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard. Pictured in February