Only Disney Can Fulfil Anya Taylor-Joy’s One Career Goal That’ll Put Her in an Elite Club of Actresses Led By Emma Watson
- Anya Taylor-Joy expressed her desire to play Elsa in a live-action adaptation of 'Frozen'.
- If cast as Elsa, Taylor-Joy would join actresses who played Disney characters like Emma Watson, Lily James, Naomi Scott, and Halle Bailey.
- Taylor-Joy faced early career rejection when she auditioned for a role in 'Maleficent'.
Disney has been quite busy lately putting out live-action adaptations of its animated classics. The Little Mermaid and Pinocchio are some of its recent examples. But one of the most anticipated among these projects is a potential live-action adaptation of Frozen, which was released in 2013.
Many popular actresses have been a part of this trend, with Emma Watson’s role in Beauty and the Beast being a prime example. And much like her, Anya Taylor-Joy is also eager to be a part of the potential live-action version of Frozen.
Anya Taylor-Joy Wants to Play Elsa for a Live-Action Frozen
Anya Taylor-Joy has been one of the fastest-rising talents in the movie industry with her roles in The Witch, The Queen’s Gambit, Last Night in Soho, and recently in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. But much like anyone else, she also desires to align herself with the Disney legacy.
In an interview with Vogue Hong Kong, Taylor-Joy revealed her desire to portray Elsa, as she feels intrigued by the challenge of singing, dancing, and acting at the same time. The actress said,
I really want to do a musical because I’m a little too obsessed with my current job. I love the challenge of completing impossible tasks. I think that’s incredibly motivating for me, so the idea of being able to sing, dance, and act at the same time is really exciting to me. I think Frozen is going to be great. Shooting ice cubes out of your hands can be a lot of fun.
She also revealed that it would be fun to hear “My aunt is Elsa” for her siblings’ kids. Moreover, Taylor-Joy already had a brief experience playing Elsa earlier. In an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Ali Plumb, the actress revealed that one of her directors once asked her if she could pretend to be Elsa for his 3-year-old daughter.
Taylor-Joy then pretended to be Elsa the whole time in front of the kid, and she enjoyed doing that. Besides this, the actress is also musically inclined, as seen in her rendition of Downtown from Last Night in Soho. This could be another reason why she can be a perfect cast member for a Disney musical.
However, if her wish ever gets fulfilled, she will enter the same club of actresses who have played Disney’s animated characters to life in live-action films, like Lily James as Cinderella, Emma Watson as Belle, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, and Halle Bailey as Ariel.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Missed Disney Opportunity
Although Taylor-Joy is one of the most popular names at present, she also faced some rejections in her career. Despite wanting to be a part of the Disney family for a long time, she was not considered in Maleficent, which was released in 2014.
Taylor-Joy auditioned for the younger version of Angelina Jolie’s character. However, the role ultimately went to Ella Purnell, who played teen Maleficent in the film. In an interview with BuzzFeed Celeb, Taylor-Joy talked about the disappointment she felt.
“It was my first audition ever. It was my first experience of rejection, like true rejection. It was to play the young Angelina Jolie in Maleficent, and it was Disney, which for me was like oh my God! Even though I look nothing like her, I definitely cried for a very long time after that happened.”
However, the rejection didn’t affect her career that much, as she starred in The Witch which was released in 2015, which gave her much-needed success and brought her to the limelight.
Although Disney has not revealed any plans for Frozen currently, now that Anya Taylor-Joy has become a much bigger name and is eager to be a part of Frozen, the studio will definitely think twice before rejecting.
Frozen and Maleficent are available to stream on Disney+.
