Anya Taylor-Joy advocates for female rage on screen while promoting ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’

Anya Taylor-Joy opens about her reasons for fighting for several of her characters to express on-screen rage. 

In an interview for GQ cover story, she disclosed instances where she was forced to change an emotional scene that saw her character crying to one that invoked 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,” said ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ star. 

“We have reactions that are not always dainty or unmessy,” Taylor-Joy added. 

During her feature acting debut in Robert Eggers’ The Witch, the actress advocated for "female rage" for the first time.

Thomasin, her character, in a scene was supposed to cry when she was dragged from the family’s farmyard and accused of being the evil presence inside the house.

The actress found herself unable to produce tears at that moment, leading her to question the necessity of crying in the scene.

“Eventually I said, ‘She’s angry; she’s f***** pissed. She’s been blamed time and time again, and she’s not doing anything. We have to stop with the crying,'” she said to Eggers.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Taylor-Joy’s recent project, by George Miller, Taylor-Joy also fought for things that felt right for her character. 

Speaking 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,” said the actress. 

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is set to release tomorrow.