Anya Taylor-Joy appears as though she arrived here via beam from another era. This fact, which is a result of those captivating eyes—the kind that have to give mascara wands an identity crisis—has received a lot of attention. Alternatively put, as one YouTube commentator put it: “Anya’s face is like a cinematographer’s cheat code.” 



But for what we want? Kind of beaming here is the Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated actress. I am in New York, and she is in California, but this is the Celebrity Zoom Interview era (tell me about that painting! has not yet ended (ooh, and what are those?). 

The unstoppable 25-year-old completed six years of back-to-back work, including Autumn de Wilde’s Emma adaption and Netflix’s massive hit The Queen’s Gambit. She is currently on her way to Iceland to record further scenes for Robert Eggers’s next film, The Northman. So, cinematic as it might sound for us to have found each other in an airport, logic has dictated that I stay in my kitchen and she stays at a friend’s house in Los Angeles, where…where…Alright, describe those.

“These?” she asks, indicating a shelf behind her with her hand so that a strand of blonde hair briefly flutters over her shoulder. “Space helmets are these. My pal is a lot of fun. Our home is filled with numerous costumes. To be honest, I kind of want to put one on for you.”

She ignores my warning that I might have to use the “many hats” analogy if she continues in this manner. She chooses one that gives her the appearance of a steampunk British bobby and smiles like a child. Then there is a distant, muted bang.

“They are demolishing something in the backyard,” she continues. “There is chaos. I am taking all the time I can to hide.”