For Anya Taylor-Joy, and A-list actress extraordinaire, incredible roles aren't hard to come by – but her latest might just be her most exciting yet. The lead has just signed on for the main role in , a forthcoming series inspired by Bella Mackie's 2021 novel. ‘As soon as I turned the last page, I knew I had to be a part of bringing this story to life,’ Taylor-Joy told .
‘After some (light) stalking of the inimitable Bella Mackie, I could not be more thrilled to be collaborating with the team that is executive producers Sally Woodward Gentle, Lizzie Rusbridger, and Emma. I am looking forward to getting our hands even dirtier.’ follows the story of Grace Bernard, whose family is complicated to say the least.
Her father, Simon Artemis, is a billionaire and ruthless social climber; Grace is the product of an affair that he claims not to remember, leaving her and her mother to fend for themselves. When Grace's mother dies, she transforms her anger into vengeance – and starts to kill off her estranged family, one by one, via ever-more creative means. ‘She’s the kind of complicated, dark, but utterly hilarious antihero you dream of writing,' said writer and executive producer, Emma Moran, adding that she felt an ‘immediate kinship’ with the character.
‘Striking that balance between camp and brutal violence that Bella hits so perfectly in the book is a challenge I’m so looking forward to. I’ve never had more fun on a project with such a high body count.’ When Mackie's novel was published three years ago, it was met with immediate success – shooting to the top of bestseller charts, it has now sold 1.
2 million copies. It's no wonder, then, that Sid Gentle Films (which also produced ) was so keen to mastermind the adaptation, which will be an eight-episode series. ‘It’s been thrilling to watch the characters I wrote take on new life under this magnificent creative team,’ Mackie said.
‘Pairing up with Sid Gentle has been joyful, and introducing me to Emma [Moran] has made me supremely confident the book is in safe hands.’ She also added that she feels Taylor-Joy is ‘the most perfect fit to play Grace..
. I often think she understands her better than I do.’ It's a feeling shared by the whole team behind , including executive producer Woodward Gentle, who described her excitement to get started on the ‘rip-roaring, take-no-prisoners, satirically pitch-black’ story.
‘Anya is a fantastic collaborator and couldn’t be a more perfect actor to inhabit Grace — sophisticated, multilayered, dangerously funny, and desperately intuitive,’ she added. Of course, Taylor Joy has form when it comes to projects (and characters) which boast more than their fair share of dark twists and turns. In , she plays Margot, one of a cast of fine-dining enthusiasts lured to their death by a grudge-fuelled celebrity chef.
In (the show which made her a household name) Taylor-Joy is Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy and orphan, who suffers from a debilitating tranquilliser addiction. Even her first project – , in 2015 – is a folk-horror tale set in 17th century New England. The half-English, half-Argentinian actress grew up between both countries, and was educated at Hill in , followed by Queen's Gate School in .
She left at 16 to pursue her career, via a touch of modelling (she was scouted by Sarah Doukas, the founder of Storm Model Management, outside ). These days, she's settled in east , in a house she bought just before lockdown, and tries to keep her life low-key – or at least, as low-key as is possible, when you're a global superstar. Her friends are not famous, but ‘wonderful people’ she has ‘met randomly,’ – although she does hang out with fellow blonde beauties, Lady Mary Charteris and Cara Delevingne.
She celebrated her Golden Globe win for by sharing a bucket of vegan fried chicken with two of her closest friends, before falling asleep in front of a movie. , she revealed that she had married her husband, Malcolm McRae, in 2022 – without the ever getting out. The wedding was a gothic spectacle which featured anatomically correct, heart-shaped cakes, a custom Dior bridal gown and a shroud-like, extra-long veil.
Arguably, it was a fitting theme for the , Taylor-Joy. If you thought you'd seen dark and twisted so far, it's nothing to what we can expect from . What we can be sure of, however, is that Taylor-Joy will bring her inimitable skill and creative flair to the role of Grace.
There isn't a release date yet, but whenever we're treated to this new series, you can bet it'll be edge-of-your-seat viewing..
