Anya Taylor-Joy has "no chill".
Anya Taylor-Joy covers British GQ. Photo by Jack Bridgland
The 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Story' actress was bullied at school and grew up feeling she was all "wrong", which she believes is because her intensity and passion can be "frightening" for some people.
She told Britain's GQ magazine's Heroes issue: "“The messaging I was getting at school was that everything about me was wrong. I think the way that I looked played into it, and then the extremes of my personality definitely played into it.
"If I loved something, I loved something. I have no chill in any regard, and that can be frightening for people, I guess.”
Anya learned to poke fun and "bury" herself as a defence mechanism in response to the bullying she faced, but has changed her outlook as she's got older.
She said: “As a survival mechanism you learn to be self-effacing and self-deprecating. You bury yourself before anybody else does,” she says. “What I’m coming to understand is: as long as you’re not causing anyone else harm, you have to stand your ground.”
And now, the 28-year-old star has developed a "reputation for fighting for feminine rage".
She said: “How do I say this? 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. We have reactions that are not always dainty or unmessy.”
Anya - who is married to Malcolm McRae - credits her lead role in 'Furiosa' for unleashing her rage and she "feels good" expressing her inner feelings when she's angry or hurt.
She continued: "For all my championing of female rage, I’ve never been an angry person. For a long time the only time I ever got angry was on other people’s behalfs. I’ve always internalised this thing of ‘I’ve done something wrong. If you treat me badly, it’s because I am the problem.’
"And I’m so grateful for 'Furiosa', because there was a real moment where I started getting angry for myself.
"My husband was like ‘I’ve never heard you be like this.’ I was like, ‘I’m glad! I’m glad that I’m angry!’ If someone steps on me now, I’m like, ‘Hey, f*** you!’ That makes me feel good.”
The Heroes Issue of British GQ is available via digital download and on newsstands on 11 June.
Anya will be speaking at the GQ Heroes conference in association with BMW, taking place at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire from the 3-5 July.
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