Anya Taylor-Joy: “Women Don’t Do Method Acting Because We Have Stuff to Do and Can’t Act Out on Set”
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Anya Taylor-Joy—widely acclaimed for her immersive performances in The Witch, The Queen’s Gambit, and Furiosa—has never utilized method acting on a film set and has no plans to adopt the approach in the future. In Taylor-Joy’s view, unlike men, women simply do not have the leeway or opportunity to become method actors.
In an interview with Complex News, Taylor-Joy observed: “If you notice, women don’t do method acting because we have stuff to do and we can’t lose our minds completely. I see acting as a form of controlled psychosis. You spend 16 hours a day pretending to be someone else, thinking like them, mimicking their movements, and living in their house and clothes. It feels like having a sister or roommate living inside your head for a while.”
She elaborated further: “I’m extremely grateful that the people around me understand this. Sometimes, if things get out of hand, they call me by the character’s name to remind me to return to reality. But I can’t imagine maintaining that state constantly; you are working with hundreds of people and have a responsibility to treat them well so everyone can do their best work. If you get too absorbed in disruptive or selfish behaviors, there’s no room left for real collaboration.”
Kristen Stewart expressed a similar perspective last December, telling The New York Times that acting is inherently a vulnerable act and that method acting often serves as a shield for certain male actors to mask that vulnerability. Stewart remarked at the time: “Have you ever heard of a female actor doing method?”
In contrast, Daniel Day-Lewis—perhaps the most prominent method actor of his generation—defended the technique during the press tour for his film Anemone. Speaking at the London Film Festival last year, Day-Lewis said: “All the recent commentary about method acting comes from people who don’t truly understand it. They think it’s pseudo-science or a cult, when in reality, the Method is simply a way to free yourself so you can offer your collaborators a live, authentic, and dynamic representation of a human being in front of the camera.”
