Anya Taylor-Joy once shared a poignant reaction when a reporter inquired if she had ever felt ‘self-conscious’ about her eyes.
More than ten years have passed since Taylor-Joy, now 28, made her television debut in an episode of the English detective drama series Endeavour. She gained further recognition as Thomasin in Robert Eggers’ The Witch.
Since that time, she has appeared in a variety of films, such as The Menu and Amsterdam, and most recently, she portrayed Alia Atreides in Dune: Part Two. Additionally, she has taken on the lead role in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Many fans of television may also remember her from her role in the Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit.
While promoting M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller, Taylor-Joy spoke with W-Magazine about her achievements in Hollywood so far.
During this discussion, the journalist described her eyes as ‘beautiful,’ but then added, “They’re so far apart.”
“When you were a kid, did they make you self-conscious?” the reporter asked.
This prompted the Golden Globe-winning actor to reflect on the critical comments she has received about her appearance over the years.
“I can definitely remember when Facebook was a thing and I was never aware that my eyes were far apart and then someone tagged me in a picture with a fish and they were like, ‘This is you ’cause your eyes are like here,’” she recalled.
“And I was really upset about it and I didn’t enjoy it and I kind of stopped looking in mirrors for a very long time,” she continued.
The actress admitted that even now, she doesn’t ‘really spend a lot of time in front of mirrors’ to avoid ‘dealing with [her] face.’
“Unfortunately, y’all do,” she joked.
Reflecting further on her youth, Taylor-Joy remembered how her eye placement affected her sports abilities.
“I will say though that it’s interesting in sports because I became very aware that when I was smaller, my head was a lot more compact and so my eyes really were on both sides of my face,” she explained.
“It became common knowledge in the playground that if you wanted me to catch a ball, you had to throw it at the side of my head ’cause if you just threw it straight here, I’d just be like, ‘Oh, my God. What? What happened? What’s going on?'” she shared.
However, Taylor-Joy mentioned that her face has since ‘grown a bit more.’
“I’m kind of growing into myself. I’m a bit less awkward,” she noted.
“Though I’m still growing a lot. I’m still getting taller – I grew like two inches last year. I don’t really know what to do with all of my limbs.”
Despite her uncertainty about her limbs, Taylor-Joy has evidently found success with them, as she continues to secure significant roles in the film industry.
Her upcoming projects include the Apple TV+ survival action film The Gorge and Romain Gavras’ Sacrifice.
In the latter, Taylor-Joy will join a cast featuring Chris Evans, Salma Hayek, Charli XCX, and Ambika Mod from One Day.