The Real Reason Anya Taylor-Joy Replaced Charlize Theron As Furiosa

In that same interview, George Miller pointed out that Anya Taylor-Joy has something major in common with Charlize Theron — both the «Queen’s Gambit» star and the Oscar winner studied ballet when they were younger. Taylor-Joy trained as a dancer until she was 15 (and was spotted in London by a model scout shortly thereafter), and Theron attended the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City for a short time before a knee injury made it impossible for her to continue dancing. Ballet is an extraordinarily precise art, and it makes perfect sense that two actresses — who, as it happens, are also both known for the intensity they bring to their roles — who trained as ballet dancers would bring the same innate quality to Furiosa.

«There’s an innately resolute quality in [Taylor-Joy],» Miller said. «She’s a very determined and rigorous person. She has a mystique about her. And she’d been trained young as a ballet dancer. Charlize trained young as a ballet dancer. There’s a precision to them that was needed.» Based on the trailers, Taylor-Joy certainly does bring quite a bit of precision to the role of Furiosa, and based on her performances in films like «The Northman,» audiences know that she’s particularly excellent at playing resolute characters.