Anya Taylor-Joy channels her inner Furiosa in Mad Max prequel

Nine years ago, the Oscar-winning blockbuster “Mad Max: Fury Road” ended with a profound quote: “Where must we go…we who wander these Wastelands in search of the best in ourselves?”

Now, Anya Taylor-Joy – star of the highly anticipated prequel “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” – has an answer based on her own life experiences: Not knowing where to go can actually help you discover who you are.

“I think when I was younger, moving was very difficult for me. I didn’t speak English until I was 8 years old,” Taylor-Joy told NBC News in a video interview. “The fact that I didn’t necessarily fit in perfectly in any given place made me feel inferior, and now I realize that I’m actually so lucky to have this truly multicultural background and that makes me who I am.”

Taylor-Joy was born in Miami, spent a few years in Argentina and moved to London with her family when she was 6 years old. She says the majority of her family still lives in the Latin American country. And this nomadic existence has shaped both her off-screen perspective and that of her on-screen character Furiosa.

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” which premieres nationwide Friday, tells Furiosa’s origin story in the years before her epic escape in “Fury Road.”

The film begins with Furiosa being kidnapped as a child by a group of bikers. She is then placed in the custody of warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), before being exchanged with a rival warlord, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).

Fans will recognize Taylor-Joy from the award-winning 2020 Netflix miniseries “The Queen’s Gambit” – she won the 2021 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Limited Series/TV Film – as well as her roles in the 2021 horror film “ The Last”. Night in Soho,” the 2022 historical action film “The Northman,” and the 2022 horror comedy “The Menu,” among others.

But Taylor-Joy says it was less than a decade ago that she first discovered the Mad Max franchise as a spectator in a movie theater.

“I never imagined that upon seeing ‘Fury Road’ I would have the opportunity to play one of the most iconic characters, and she means everything to me,” she said. “I was really excited to get the job, very excited to play in this particular sandbox with George (Miller, the director of the Mad Max franchise).”

Charlize Theron first played Furiosa in 2015’s “Fury Road.” Fans will remember her leading Immortan Joe’s slave wives in a daring escape from his fortified desert fortress. And although Taylor-Joy said she played the character in her own way, watching Theron do it on the big screen influenced her approach.

“What Charlize did so well was she really tapped into the essence of the character,” she said. “And so, rather than trying to specifically tap into his performance, I just felt like if I tapped into the correct essence of the character, it would get me there.”

According to Taylor-Joy, part of that essence is looking at Furiosa’s character through the eyes of a woman.

“I think when Furiosa first came on screen, there weren’t many roles like this. And it made so much noise,” she said. “You’re watching a woman in her singular mission be derailed and sort of crushed by these two giant powers that be, these two almost demonic men in this case.”

The “Mad Max” franchise is a sprawling survival epic about a society that has collapsed due to war, lack of resources and environmental destruction.

Taylor-Joy says this type of adrenaline thriller can be thrilling because viewers “want to see the good guy win.” But it also delivers a telling warning.

“If we don’t want to end up in a world that is sterile and where empathy is punished, we need to take some action today,” she said.

Yet in this sobering message, Taylor-Joy says “Furiosa” also gives viewers hope.

“No matter how many times someone pushes you down, if you keep getting up, at some point you will prevail,” she said.

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