Anya Taylor-Joy Reveals the Exact Moment She Felt She Truly Became an Actor

Anya Taylor-Joy has spoken about the point in her career when she felt she had officially “made it” as an actor. Even though she had already built a strong reputation with major projects like Robert Eggers’ horror film The Witch and the hit thriller Split with James McAvoy, she says a later job made things feel real for her.

According to an interview with Allure, the moment came when she landed a role in a BBC period drama. She explained that getting that kind of part carried a special meaning for her, especially because of how closely those shows are tied to British television culture. She said, “Doing BBC period drama is – when I first heard I had the job, I was like, Oh, my gosh, I’m officially an actress. That’s the legitimate thing.”

Taylor-Joy has a mixed background, having grown up between Buenos Aires, Miami, and the UK. That exposure meant she was already familiar with classic British period dramas and the style of storytelling that the BBC is known for.

Her first step into that world came with The Miniaturist, set in 17th-century Netherlands. She played Petronella, a young woman drawn into a mysterious situation involving a miniature dollhouse that begins to reveal secrets about her new life as a wife. While the series received a positive response, for Taylor-Joy, the personal milestone mattered more than the reception.

After that, she continued building her career in similar spaces. She later joined the cast of Peaky Blinders as Gina Gray, appearing across multiple episodes of the popular crime drama. She also went on to star in Emma, a film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel, and later gained global attention with The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, which earned her a Golden Globe.

Even with bigger awards and international success following those projects, Taylor-Joy has said that the feeling of landing her first BBC period drama role stayed with her as something special.

Her story shows that sometimes the biggest personal milestone for an actor is not the most famous role, but the one that makes them feel like they truly belong in the industry.

What do you think about her choosing that moment as her “real” breakthrough? Share your thoughts in the comments.