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Anya Taylor-Joy admitted she struggles to watch herself in movies for heartbreaking reason
Home>Entertainment>Celebrity
Published 16:04 16 Apr 2025 GMT+1

Anya Taylor-Joy admitted she struggles to watch herself in movies for heartbreaking reason

The actor admitted she had a panic attack in the run-up to the release of Emma (2020)

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

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Anya Taylor-Joy may be one biggest stars in Hollywood, but she doesn't always feel like it.

Since her breakthrough roles in the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austin's Emma and Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit, the 29-year-old's career has gone from strength-to-strength, seeing her land roles in everything from Dune: Part Two to a Super Mario Bros movie and Mad Max spinoff Furiosa.

Despite the international fame and a series of stellar projects lined up it would seem the actor isn't all that comfortable in her own skin.

So much so that she doesn't enjoy watching her own movies back.

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Touching on her insecurities in a 2020 interview with The Telegraph, Taylor-Joy said: "I have never and I don’t think I will ever think of myself as beautiful."

Anya Taylor-Joy may be one of the most recognisable faces in the industry, but she doesn't consider herself beautiful (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Anya Taylor-Joy may be one of the most recognisable faces in the industry, but she doesn't consider herself beautiful (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

Taylor-Joy's comments may come as a shock to many, given that she was scouted as a model before her feature film debut in 2015's The Witch and regularly appears on arbitrary lists ranking the 'most beautiful celebrity women in the world', however it would seem this isn't a title which she necessarily agrees with.

"I don’t think I’m beautiful enough to be in films," she continued.

"It sounds pathetic and my boyfriend warns me people will think I’m an absolute d*** for saying these things, but I just think I’m weird-looking.

"I won’t go to the cinema to watch my own film, I’ll watch it before. The beauty of being in your own skin is that you don’t have to look at your own face."

The actor even went as far as admitting her lack of self-confidence had made her nervous in the run-up to the release of Emma, over fears that she would be branded 'the first ugly Emma'.

"I genuinely had a panic attack on Emma because I thought, ‘I am the first ugly Emma and I can’t do this’," she said.

"Because the first line in the movie is, 'I’m handsome, clever and rich'."

The actor even admitted to having a panic attack about playing the role of Emma (Focus Features)
The actor even admitted to having a panic attack about playing the role of Emma (Focus Features)

Fortunately for Taylor-Joy, her performance in Emma would be well received, with the actor's career going from strength to strength ever since.

The actor has also enjoyed a wide range of roles, with her most recent credit coming from AppleTV+ flick The Gorge alongside Miles Teller.

Taylor-Joy recently opened up about what it was like to film the sci-fi thriller, revealing there was one particular stunt which left her feeling in danger.

Explaining how once scene required her and Teller to be suspended off the side of a cliff in a jeep, she said: "Any accident that you made your character would fall and you, the actor would fall. It was just such a small jeep too."

Featured Image Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, TV and Film

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

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@_brencoco

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