Anya Taylor-Joy, the same actress who’s now a Hollywood powerhouse, once believed The Witch would be her last role. Sounds wild, right? In 2016, Taylor-Joy’s breakout as Thomasin in Robert Eggers’ eerie period horror was met with rave reviews. But while critics sang her praises, she seriously questioned her future.
“I thought I’d never work again,” she admitted on THR’s Awards Chatter podcast. Imagine that—her very first major film role, and she’s having a full-on crisis. The actress even had a meltdown when she saw the movie for the first time at Sundance. “Rob showed us the film maybe two hours before the audience screening, and I was devastated. I thought, ‘I’ve let down everyone I love.’” Yep, she was in tears. Who knew?
And let’s not sugarcoat it: watching yourself on the big screen for the first time is a weird experience for anyone. But Anya Taylor-Joy was too hard on herself. “I didn’t do it right. I just cried,” she says. And that’s honestly heartbreaking when you realize how much she brought to that role. But hey, that moment of doubt didn’t stop her—it turned into the fuel she needed to push forward.
Fast forward to today: Taylor-Joy is an absolute star. After The Witch, she leveled up with roles in Peaky Blinders and Glass. But 2020? That was her breakout moment. The Queen’s Gambit made her a household name; she was suddenly the actor everyone talked about. Awards buzz? Everywhere.
And let’s not forget that she’s not just some one-trick pony. She followed up with Emma., kicked off her superhero credentials in The New Mutants, and teamed up with Eggers again for The Northman. She’s genuinely a genre chameleon, pulling off period pieces and modern thrills with ease.
Anya Taylor-Joy started with major self-doubt after The Witch, but now she’s owning the spotlight in Last Night in Soho and Furiosa. Talk about turning doubt into unstoppable success.
Taylor-Joy’s story is a big, bold reminder that it’s not about your first shot but what you do after you miss. So when in doubt, just keep going. If you can survive The Witch crisis, you can conquer anything.
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