Driving a car for the first time can be a terrifying experience. But did your maiden vehicular voyage take place in front of a camera — while you pulled off some insane stunt? That’s what it was apparently like for Anya Taylor-Joy, who got her driving legs while filming a movie by one of the kings of automotive mayhem, Mad Max director George Miller.
As per Entertainment Weekly, the in-high-demand Queen’s Gambit actress recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show (while seated next to Bruce Springsteen, no less). At one point, the host busted out a clip she posted to her Instagram account, which finds her on the set of Furiosa, the Mad Max prequel about the early days of Charlize Theron’s Fury Road badass. In it, a car, driven by Taylor-Joy, speeds towards the camera — only to do a perfect “juicy lift 180,” where the car comes to a complete stop, but only after doing a U-turn.
It’s pretty impressive! But you know what’s even more impressive? That it was, she says, her first time driving. “What’s really crazy and slightly upsetting about that is that that’s my first time in a car,” Taylor-Joy told Norton, et al. “So I don’t have a license, I can’t parallel-park, I can’t go on the highway. I still don’t have one, but I can do that. At some point that will come in handy, I’m assuming.”
Furiosa wrapped principal photography late last month after spending the summer shooting. Driving a car wasn’t the only first Taylor-Joy recently enjoyed. She also played with The Beach Boys, as we all do it some point in life.
You’ll have to wait awhile to see how Taylor-Joy equips herself behind the wheel: Furiosa doesn’t hit theaters until May 24, 2024. But for now, you can watch her talk about driving in the video below.
(Via EW)