Happy Sad Confused - Anya Taylor-Joy, Vol. II

Episode Date: October 14, 2020

It's been a pretty cool week for Anya Taylor-Joy. She's got a new Netflix series coming out next week. She's shooting Robert Eggers' new film in Belfast. And and she was just cast as Furiosa in George Miller's next film in the Mad Max universe! There's lots for Josh and Anya to catch up on on this episode, including her passion for all things Harry Potter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Nights definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on,

none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, Sad, Confused begins now. Today on Happy, Sad, Confused, Ania Taylor Joy on the Queen's Gambit, Harry Potter, and Furiosa. Hey, guys, I'm Josh Harowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused.

Excited to say, we have a returning guest, a relatively recently returning guest. We just talked on the podcast in February, I believe, right before the world cracked in half into a thousand pieces. Anya Taylor Joy joined me in my office back then, and we had a really great conversation, really bonded over our fellow geekdom in the world of film. And I'm thrilled that she came back. I'm thrilled that she's coming back to talk about this cool new Netflix series, The Queen's Gambit, which drops next week. I'm thrilled that she chose an awesome comfort movie. She's the first of my guests to choose a Harry Potter film as her comfort movie,

Harry Potter in the Deathly Hallows, part one. And I'm mostly thrilled, I will confess, and it will surprise nobody who's listened to this podcast to hear this, that she came on the podcast the day after it was announced that she is our new Furiosa. Yeah, there's a bit of geeking out in this conversation about that. She has been cast in the Charlize Theron role in Furiosa, the prequel to Mad Max Fury Road. It's her, it's Chris Hemsworth, it's Yaya Abdul Matine II, who's also done the podcast in the last year. So I'm so thrilled that the timing actually worked out. This is maybe her first conversation on the record about Furiosa, or if not that, one of the very first.

So if you've come here looking for Furiosa talk, a fair amount, and obviously no spoilers or anything, we've got years to talk about it, but it's cool to hear her talk about how excited she is, and she feels the weight of the role and the character and what Shirley's crafted, and yeah, there's a fair amount of Mad Max talk in this. But there's also a lot of talk about what she's up to, which is this cool new Scott Frank series called The Queen's Gambit. It is, it's an unusual project. It's a character study about a chess prodigy. It's kind of a psychological thriller character study.

Kind of impossible to put into one genre, but maybe that's what makes it all the more special. We also chose to talk about, or she chose, rather, to talk about as her comfort movie, as I alluded to earlier, a Harry Potter film. She is a diehard Harry Potter fan. She chose Harry Potter in the Deathly Hallows Part 1. an unusual choice, and I told her that, in our conversation, and kind of not the one I would

expect to be the first Harry Potter film for one of my guests to choose, but you'll learn why she chose this one in particular. So yes, that's Annia Taylor Joy coming up as the main event on today's happy, sad, confused, other things to mention. New episode of Stir Crazy, of course, every week, new episodes on Comedy Central's YouTube and Facebook page. This week, we have One of my favorites, the great comedian, actor, podcaster now, Sarah Silverman is my guest. We had a blast. She's always fun. Check that out, as I said, on Comedy Central's YouTube and Facebook pages.

Not much else to say today. I think we should just get right to the main event because this is especially fortuitous timing to talk to Ania. And I know you guys probably want to hear from her rather than me promoting all my wares. So let's get right to it. As I said, the Queen's Gambit on Netflix next week. Check that out. And in the meantime, check out this conversation, me and Ania Tower Joy. It's happening.

The button has been pushed. Oh, boy. Now it's all on the record. Anya Tower Joy. Welcome back to the podcast. A little different this go-around, but it's good to see you. It's good to see you too. Thank you for having me.

Oh, my gosh. Um, there's a lot to talk to even in these crazy times, especially in these crazy times. Um, but I, let's just start. This is fortuitous timing. I mean, we this, so yesterday arguably was probably one of the most exciting days of your career because you got, you've gotten the role of a lifetime officially announced. You are Furiosa. Can you just tell me what yesterday was like for you when it was announced? Um, I mean, okay, like, it's so many. Many feelings. So many feelings. I am currently in Belfast shooting a movie and I was here when I saw Fury Road for the first time. So I walked past the cinema where I first was like amazed by this incredible mind. And yeah, it's difficult to put into words. I feel so humbled and grateful. But also like I think the first thing that went through my head when I found out I was going to do it is I was like, I have. am so excited to work so hard. Like I am going to work so hard at this. And the level of commitment

that has been shown by those that have come before me, I just, I endeavor to match that. And that makes me really excited. Yeah, it's setting a pretty high bar. I mean, Fury Road is the most obsessed over film on this podcast the last few years and any cinephile. And not to mention, And I mean, Shirley's obviously created an iconic performance. Oh, she's unbelievable. Like, it's honestly, like, just I have so much respect for the originators of this crazy world and this unbelievable, you know, collection of characters. And I just, again, I'm just excited to work really hard.

Who was the most random, coolest text or whatever you got yesterday? I'm sure your phone was blowing up. I mean, the first person to text me, which I shouldn't have been surprised, it was Edgar. because, you know, he and Georgia friends and he was just the first one to be like, I'm excited that I knew about this beforehand, but now the world knows, congratulations. But, you know, again, like, I'm filming,

and so anytime that I'm not on set, I'm self-isolating as much as I can. So my celebration was, like, watching Harry Potter and eating great food by myself and being like, is this real? I love it. Well, we'll get to Harry Potter in a second, And it's funny, like you're kind of like a bookend for me of this year because like we spoke

relatively, we spoke in February, as I recall. And it was, it was, you were one of the last kind of normalish conversations I had for the podcast before the shit hit the fan. And it's interesting. I mean, as I remember it, you were, you were kind of, I mean, you had just a very busy year. You had filmed like, I think, three things back to back. Maybe Queens Gambit was the last thing you had shot. Yeah. So, yeah, it's all, it's all very, very, weirdly book-endy because I, so 2019, yeah, that's where, um, 2019 started with Emma. Then it was last nine in Soho and then it was Queens Gambit. And then 2020 started speaking with you about Emma. And now in a different galaxy, far, far away, we are communicating about the

Queen's Gambit. So we're back. So you would talk at the time about like, you know, you know, admittedly like I like to work, but also I probably need a, a second to breathe. Well, it turned out the whole world has gotten more than a second to breathe. Did, talk me through, I guess, the last few months for you. Was this good for you? Was this, I mean, you have a very active mind. You have a very active spirit. How has it been to have to kind of like sit back and relax and chill for a second? I mean, I can never be grateful to a pandemic that has caused so much suffering, obviously, because I'm, you know, I'm insane in some ways, but I'm not like, but I am very grateful to the space because like the first two weeks

of lockdown, it was kind of like, ah, look at this like Santa Claus Slay thing that you've been carrying around and chucking all of your experiences into and going, I can't deal with it because I'm working. Well, guess what? Now you have to unpack the whole thing and deal with it. And that was hard to begin with, but I'm now so grateful to be on the other side of it because I realized that I just, I'd never had a second to assimilate any of the lessons that I'd learned, any of the trauma I'd experienced or the good things I'd experienced, they'd all just been like chucked aside to focus on, you know, breathing life into a new character. And I feel like I've grown up in this time. I feel I've had time to go from being 18 to

being 24. It is funny how like sometimes being a workaholic and filling the gaps with work is is kind of an excuse not to deal with the real shit. Like not to like, I mean, I'm saying this for myself like because I'm the same, I'm the same way. Like I pile on like, let me do a different show. Let me start a new podcast. Let me do it. And part of it is just like keep my mind busy so I don't have to, I don't know, sit back and really deal with the real stuff. And there's a good and bad side to that. That's, I guess that's maturity. is when you learn to sit back and like, okay, it's time to actually deal with myself. Well, I mean, absolutely.

I think, like, there was, you know, I can remember the first time I ever lost somebody who meant a great deal to me, I found out on a plane going from the job I had just done into the next project. And when I got to that job, I was a wreck. And the way that I, like, told that story in my head was like, oh, but all of these incredible people like brought me back to life and brought me together again. And that is true, but I'm also now aware of like, wait,

it's not normal to grieve in between setups. It is not normal to like be able to put your brain into a different headspace and do something really well. And then when they yell cut, like go off into the forest and like cry about it. Like that's not how you process something. And I think having the space to like tend of myself with the same regard that I give to my characters,

I now feel like, oh, I can do a much better job of the thing that I love now that my own well is full rather than scrapping and trying to find anything I can to give to the character that I was like portraying at the time. Does that make sense? Yeah, totally. So in the last few months, and I know some of it was some work, you were able to do a little bit more work with Edgar

to finish up last night in Soho, but like in the downtime, where did the energy go? because the energy doesn't just dissipate. You still have a lot of energy. So what did you focus on? Were you reading? Were you curing cancer? Did you discover the meaning of life, Ania?

What would you all go? I wish. I think the beginning was confusing because, you know, I sort of, I said this before. And it had sounded weird when I was saying it, but it was genuinely my truth. It was like, I can tell you what any of my characters do for fun, but I've forgotten what I do.

Like, I don't know how I cope with situations anymore. And rediscovering reading was huge for me because as a kid, that was just where I went to. Like, it took my mother years to train me out of taking a book to a dinner party because I would just, like, put it beneath the table and just, I couldn't get out of that world. And now that I've rediscovered, like, oh, yeah, this is a big part of what makes me who I am. and I love throwing myself into stories and hearing other people's thoughts like reverberating around in my own head. I think that brought me a lot of like peace and a lot of love and movies, of course. What was it like to get back on set after a bit of a break? Was it doing stuff with

Edgar? Was that the first time you shot something in all this? That was the first time. And the craziest thing about that experience was I had to move to an isolation house. So I was like, like, ah, okay. Like, just remember what these new boundaries are. And we also, we have to carry my one for last night in Soho is actually hilarious. I think I might have to frame it and put it on my wall, but they gave me like this stick with this huge piece of plexy glass attached to it that's really heavy. I'd like hit myself in the head with it a couple of times. And I was like, ah, I must remember to put this in front of my face so that other people don't talk to me. Like question mark, but everyone, everyone's done such an incredible job.

And on the movie I'm on now, the Northman, I couldn't be more in awe of how these people have rallied and have created a set that is as safe as we possibly can be without, you know, skimping on the quality of the art. Like I'm genuinely inspired by them. Well, I'm excited you're back to work with the great Robert Eggers. Maybe we'll tease that a little bit later. but let's talk we have two other big subjects to get into one your comfort movie but also queen's gambit which i've really been digging so this is this is one of these this is one of these series um i'm a big fan of scott frank i mean i i've i mean i'm a cinephile i i remember when he was just like known as like the guy that wrote like these really cool 90s films like dead again was like one of my favorites way back when

out of sight um in lisa years he's done godless and now this um and it's kind of a It's kind of, I don't even know what genre you put it into, and I think that's part of the beauty of it. How was this presented to you? What was, what was exciting about Queen's Gambit when it was presented? I heard that Scott Frank, the man, wanted to talk to me about something and that there was no script, but there was a book. And, you know, my head was all over the place. I think I was like, yeah, I think I just agreed to do Emma and last night in Soho, and I was like, I'm in, What am I doing? But I can't let these go. And I devoured the book. Just from the first page, I was obsessed. And I am not a runner. I do not run places. But when I finished the book, I was so excited. I was like, okay, I'm going to have to walk to this meeting because otherwise he's going

to think I'm a psycho and like I'm not going to be able to do this. And like five minutes into walking, I started to run. Like I ran to that meeting and I ran home afterwards. Because I just had so many ideas and I fell in love with Beth and I really felt like I could tell this story and that I understood what she was going through. And the first thing that I said to Scott, I like ran into the restaurant and I was like, it's not all about chess and she has to have red hair. And he was like, you're right. It's not all about chess and she does have to have red hair. And we, I just, I could not love that man anymore if I tried. He is an incredible collaborator so talented but also just like one of those people who's so nice you don't think it's real

and I'm here to tell you that after months well now it's been a year after a year of knowing him very intimately he is the nicest person like it's all that it's all real you've just booked him on the podcast now I'm intrigued because as I said I'm a fan of this work and now that I know he's a good guy too excellent so you mentioned okay so like for the audience it doesn't know much and you don't need to know much. Frankly, I didn't know much going into this, and I kind of enjoyed taking the ride and kind of seeing where it went. It is about the world of chess. You're a prodigy. It's, it follows several years in your life. But it's, I don't know, it's almost like a psychological character study, a thriller in a way. It's a lot of things. What does the, what are the advantages

of following a character like this through multiple episodes versus a film? Did you find that rewarding that you had space to kind of go on this journey with her? Oh, absolutely. I think the level of connection I had with Beth, I think I would have found it very difficult to let her go after the space of time of a movie. I think I would have felt very incomplete. Whilst after seven hours, I'm like, you're good.

We did it. I can let you go now, Beth. We can chill. We can chill for a while. Yeah, I think, I mean, as a performance, it's an absolute gift to get to play someone from 15 to 21. Like that was a challenge that I hadn't had before and I was super excited to get into it.

But I think as an audience member, there's something so beautiful about being, like standing testament to someone's growth. Because if you've seen the way that they react to something when they're 8, 15, you then understand the choices that they're making at 21 and it makes the victories so much more delicious delicious and the loss is so much more painful because you've like seen the patterns that

they follow and you understand why they react to things a certain way. So it's almost like you're reliving a memory, I guess. Right. I'm sure you also, again, knowing what I know about you having now talk to you a bunch of times, connect on the obsessiveness, connect on, and I mean that with love. I mean, you know, you've talked before to me about like, I don't fall in like with something, I fall in love with something, like I go all the way. And certainly Beth has her demons and has her issues, but at the core of a lot of it is a focus or I don't know. Yeah, no, completely. I think the first thing that I connected to with Beth was she has an inherent loneliness to her. And I could really connect with that, especially as a younger kid. And she,

she found chess and I found making art. And I think the feeling that she has when she first walks into, you know, a whole where a competitive chess is taking place was the exact same feeling that I had when I first walked onto a set. I was like, oh, I get it. This is where I'm supposed to be.

Did you know the long history of this project? I was unaware when I read that Heath Ledger, I mean, this is kind of fascinating. And I knew Heath Ledger was, I mean, it's crazy to think. I've been doing this a while. I interviewed Heath Ledger and a lot of it, we talked about chess. He was, he loved chess. He played, I remember he played like, he told me he would play like pick up games like in Washington Square Park in New York. And he was supposed to, this is going to be his directing debut way back when. Yeah. Scott let me know about the,

the very long history that this book has, but I think it's so, I mean, my favorite gift to receive is a book, Like if someone goes, I really care about this and I want you to have it, I want to share this with you. And I think the Queen's Gambit as a book has a history of being shared amongst creatives because it does, whilst it specializes in the world of chess, what it really is tackling is like when you have such a singular focus and a singular dedication to something that requires absolutely everything of you, how do you not? lose your fucking mind, essentially. Like that's sort of, that's kind of the message or the question that the show poses. And I think a lot of creatives, a lot of sports people can connect with that. By the way, I loved seeing, I mean, I love the whole ensemble in this, but I was especially excited to see Mario Heller pop in there, who I'm such a fan of her work

behind the camera as well. Does she direct any of these? Did Scott direct them all? Is it all on camera for Mary or what? Yeah. Scott directed all of them. Scott was Mari's, what would you call it? I guess Mari was in the Sunnance Labs projects. It seems like a mentor of type. Yeah. Thank you. Mentor. That's the word. And they had a really close friendship and she was amazing to work with. And the relationship that Alma and Beth have is so

interesting and juicy and bizarre that we both just loved it. We really relished it. Yeah. You've summed up the series, I think, in those words. interesting, juicy, bizarre right there. That doesn't sell it. I don't know what else we have to do, guys. So I know you've been, you've been very kind. You reached out. You were excited about the fact that I was kind of talking about celebrating comfort movies on the podcast in recent months. And you broke my heart. It's okay. I forgive you. It wasn't me. It was Dakota. Dakota Fanning did it. Dakota Fanning broke my heart. It's okay. I forgive everyone involved. It's first come, first serve on Happy Second News. Fair news. So for, so for the history.

So to clarify, yes, I've been asking guests to bring a comfort movie to the table. And you were like, I got to do Almost Famous, right? It was literally like the day before, day after Dakota taped her almost famous episode. But you went through a few different permutations, which was fascinating. You also mentioned one, which would have been a fascinating episode. I will say, do you remember what you told me you wanted to do? Yes, I'm happy to talk about everything, man. I wanted to do Requiem for a Dream.

I had seen it for the first time during lockdown. And the word comfort, like almost famous was just the reason I reached out was like, again, to touch on obsession, like, if I could wax lyrical about a movie, I was just like, it has to be this. But then when I had to think about something else that I wanted to talk about, I had just seen Requiem for a Dream. And whilst it's not a comforting subject matter, the high level of art was comforting to me. Like, you know, I think it was maybe week two of lockdown. I'd watch like some stuff that was like, you know, chicken soup for the soul, like nice. Then I saw this movie and I was like, I love art so much, like what's achievable, the way that the camera moves, just, uh, I, any time, you know, film and TV is a visual art.

If you're not using everything at your disposal to tell a story, what are you doing? And so the camera language, the costumes, the way that the colors change, just everything about it. I was like, ah, this is it. I think you would vibe with Darren Aronovsky. I don't know if you've met him yet, but he is, again, a, I mean, as you know, I mean, just an artist at the highest possible level and just obsessive. Again, that word keeps coming up, but in the best possible way. No, truly.

And yeah, every, let's go to passionate. We're going to passionate, yeah. But no, I mean, every film of his is an event for me, even the ones that, like, yeah, I know mother divided people, but I still just love. he swings for the fences. He just goes for it. That's what you want. I went to see mother at the Nighthawk in Brooklyn. And the thing that stands out the most to me about that was that when I left that theater, there was a genuine street brawl happening outside of like two people literally divided into camps, like screaming their opinions at each other. And I was like,

this is, this is what art's supposed to do, man. What's that wonderful quote that's like, it's supposed to unnerve the comfortable and comfort and comfort the unnerved or something. Right, right, right. That is like, that is the ultimate, ultimate Brooklyn story, that the Brooklyn Street brawl was over whether mother was a great piece of art or not. It's a story for the earth, you idiot. That's awesome. Okay, so the one that we did arrive at, that you arrived at is, and it's surprising,

it's taken this long for one of these films to come up on the podcast. That's a comfort movie. Tell us your ultimate choice for this episode. What did you choose? My comfort movie is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one, part uno. So, okay, this is intriguing to me on a number of levels. Obviously, I love all the Harry Potter movies. I confess I didn't grow up reading the books.

I'm a bit older, so I didn't interact with it that way. But, well, let's start here. Harry Potter and Deadly Hallows Part 1 is not the one I think of as the general acclaimed one. I think of Asgavan. You know, you could cite the first one is just the one that kind of like created it and casted that that amazing group of young performers. I love Deathly Hallows Part 2. Sell me on Deathly Hallows Part 1. Why is this the comfort movie? Well, I'm glad you asked. I think it's because if you were somebody that grew up reading the books as they came out, and that means that you were somebody that had, you know,

like the films coming out every year. Every Harry Potter movie is really packed. Like they're very much like, there's a lot going on. Voldemort's coming to Hogwarts. Like we have to figure something out. And whilst that's really exciting, it never gives the characters a lot of time to breathe. And what I thought was beautiful about splitting

the Deathly Hallows into part one and part two was that part one felt like you really got to enjoy is potentially the wrong word, but like commiserate with characters that you had grown up with and that you now felt like you understood and you had time with them. Like it was about those relationships and what was going on. And that, you know, the way you articulate it makes a lot of sense to me. Yes, you are kind of sitting with, especially kind of the core three, obviously, as they kind of like deal with the weight of what's coming, what, uh, of just like the accumulation of all these years of battles and yeah it makes sense because like by then the performers have

kind of like are as good as they've ever been right they matured into kind of like fine actors i mean it's the casting coup of the century that they cast these films so well with young performers um and yeah it's a bit i mean maybe this is too strong a word for a harry potter film but it's a more of a meditative harry potter film it's not the whiz bam bash you know it's got action but it you you sit with them. Absolutely. And I think also, you know, it's something, like, I remember coming out of Deathly Hallows part two.

So I must have been 15. And when they were, like, bombing Hogwarts, just the, the gossip that emanated from the cinema that I was in of, like, they are destroying my childhood. Like, my childhood is being destroyed in front of me. And I think with part one, you can really, like, again, I don't like it. I love it. You can really feel these characters having to understand that they have matured into a world now where the stakes are not low, where people die, where, I mean, you begin the movie with, like,

Harry going back to the cupboard under the stairs with Hermione obliverate, what? Ablibrating? I think that's the term. Like, obliterating her parents' minds. Like, everything about it screams, we are no longer in a children's movie. Like, we do not get to go back to, like, feasts at Hogwarts after this. And I think, like, as you carry that, especially if you're watching it, you know, when you were younger, you were just like, oh, God, I'm growing up. Oh, God, I'm growing up. Also, I would say, just to mention other things, I mean, I watched it again the other day since I knew you wanted to chat about it and like a few things struck me I mean this is always talked about the ensemble beyond just the child performers and this one especially just

like jumps out like from the first image of Bill Nye talking to the camera amazing right the great bill Nye there's no there's no two like every the smallest adult character is played by you know Brendan Gleason or another song and they're all just like literally the best actors on the planet and that was just a genius. The sets are remarkable. David Yates really is like an underrated filmmaker, I think, in creating really distinct, powerful worlds. I also love how many, like, just enjoying the Malfoy's.

Helen Abottom Carter is just like, I never get enough of her, right? No. And actually, on that subject, I was, I've never thought about this before, but just out of curiosity, like, if you had to go head to head with Dolores Umbridge or Bellatrix The Strange?

Like, where would you go? I'm curious. I feel like Dolores, because Belatrix is just like, she's like that shit crazy. Like, she's just a little scary. Like, what the fuck is she going to do? Yeah, but this is my thought process. Like, at least with, like, with Belatrix, you know that she's like kinky insane, whilst Dolores would just like smile at you the whole time

and like make the pad watch. Yeah. You know, like it would be weird. This is fair. This is fair. So, okay, you've alluded to this before in our past podcast and in this conversation. Talk to me a little through your Harry Potter journey from child to adult. Like, where are you, like, have you followed it? The books were important to you. I know you read them over and over. Did you, have you gone to Wizarding World? Have you contemplated Harry Potter tattoos? Give me a sense of how much it still permeates your life to this, to this day.

Oh, wow. I mean, I, okay so I learned to speak English reading the books like that's that's where my like obsession stems from it's I remember being when I first got to my new school in England I went to the library and the library was like in the middle of this room and it was all encased in glass and I can just remember pressing my face against it and going there is a whole world of stuff that I cannot access because I can't fucking read yet and like I will learn and I will learn this language so that I can get into that and I can do this. And so like the first people I ever met in the language that I'm speaking to you and now were the characters of Harry Potter. So it was,

it was a big deal. When I was like 12, no, later, maybe 16, 17. Like now, I went to the incredible set that they still have that's open. So, and And I remember walking into the room where they have like the actual model of Hogwarts. And when I walked in, I burst into tears and the woman that was like the attendant just turned to me and she goes, happens all the time. It's really fine. Don't worry about it. You're not weird.

Like it's okay. So it doesn't, it doesn't permeate my life that much now. But whenever I think about it, it is a feeling of like deep devotion and finding, you know, it was a mixture of magic and friendship. friendship and accepting which i really needed as a kid which uh in the in the in the eight films which of the deaths hit you hardest obviously in the one that you chose today we have sad death or dobby yeah um book-wise bookwise it was headwig but only because i spoiled it from my brother and my brother like lost his shit he was mad like he took my book away from me we were supposed to be reading them at the same time and i started crying and he was

Like, you ruined this for me. In the films, I think it actually has to be serious. I think that's the one that I felt the most. Yeah, I remember they did, they tried to launch an Oscar campaign for Rickman towards the end of the series. And that's just one of the great oversights, I think. Like, there was, obviously there's always been a bit of a bias against fantasy genre films.

But what he was able to do with such a complex, fascinating character. Come on. Absolutely. So I take it you thanks to the timing or whatever. Have you ever auditioned for Potter or Fantastic Beasts? Has that ever come up? No, but when I was 10, I wrote my only letter to a casting director. I did not get a reply.

I was just like, hi, I'm 10. I really care about acting, and I think I'd be great in Harry Potter. So please give me a call. And Fiona Weir did not write me back, which is okay. I have, like, made my piece with that. Is there a character that you would have liked a crack at? I mean, the actress that plays Luna is so good, but I do love me some Luna.

She's got some great lines. Like, just there's so much fun to say. Yeah, the actress, I think it was Ivana Lynch, I want to say. Like, so specific, so just, like, quirky. to the nth degree in the fat and that lovely soft voice it's so cute so where would you rank i mean you don't have to do all eight films but like give me a sense of where the films all stand for you are you because a lot of people cite like asgaban as kind of like the ultimate it's quaron directing it of course um in hindsight now that we've got some some years past the the series what are the

what's like the top three three of the films i do i do think asgavan might be number number one. It's not, it wasn't my comfort. Yeah, I could see how it wouldn't be. Yeah, because again, like, what's, what's really genius about the way that the books and the films, the way that they were staggered is you really were growing up with the characters. And so when you went to see the third Harry Potter and all of a sudden like, shit was dark, it really blew your mind because you're like, oh my goodness, I'm clearly mature enough to be able to handle this and stress um i sobbed hysterically when cedric digri was killed so i think i think i think it might have to go three four and then and then the two deathly hallies yeah they're just great so uh let's

give some arbitrary awards for deathly how is part one is there uh an actor you would give the best performance award to in this film oh um um uh tie No, I can't do that. That's so hard. You know what? Let's give it to Daniel Radcliffe. Like, bless him. He's the chosen one. Like, he has a hard time. Like, he's going through it. Have you met any of the Harry Potter actors, other young ones or the esteemed, every great British actor in the history of the medium? Yes, I've worked with a few of them. And it's always important to me that after we like have a basis of like, oh, you're cool, I'm cool. I'm like, I have to tell you this on the first day we know each other because if I hold on to it, then it's weird. Like, if I don't tell you that I'm obsessive. But then again, they must get that all the time. So I think it's pretty chill. Right. Who in particular did you have that conversation with? Well, I just had the pleasure of working with Harry Melling on the Queen's Gambit, and he's a beautiful person, just so sweet, so humble, so lovely. And it was a pleasure to work

with him. And then I worked with the two Weasley twins on Laughline and Soho. So that was really fun. Radcliffe actually has been on the podcast several times, but recently for his comfort movie, I find it funny that his comfort movie was maybe the most random of all. He chose the

I want to say it was in the 2000s teen comedy Get Over It, which I had never seen. Do you know Get Over It? No. Yeah, I hadn't seen it either. Don't worry. So now you should check Look, if you're a true Harry Potter fan and you want to, you know. I guess I have to get in there. And also, like, just, I have to say, I hadn't seen, I hadn't seen the later

Harry Potter since I worked with Helen McCrory. And I have so much love and respect for that woman. Yep. But just see, like, it sounds silly, but I get really excited when I see my friends, like, on TV. I'm like, you're amazing. That's so great. Look at you go. This is awesome. Amazing. Is there, is there a line either from Deathly Howells Part 1 or through the series of books or films that you find yourself quoting or that comes up in your life? Oh, I mean, Dumbledore's got some great lines. The one about in the darkness, one only has to remember to turn on the light. That's something that, you know, I think everyone can do with remembering right now.

I think it's important to turn on the light. Definitely, definitely. But no tattoos. The quotes have not been tattooed on your back just yet. No, no, no, no. I, if I got a tattoo for everything that I was obsessed with, I would never work again. Yeah, you'd look like, memento. You'd be like, yeah, no, it wouldn't work.

A lot of time in the makeup chair. So you mentioned, so you're in Belfast. Is that what you said you are in that? So you're re-teaming right now. Have you started shooting yet, or are you in like the quarantine portion? He started shooting in August. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah, so we're more than halfway through now, which is crazy, but so exciting.

An amazing company of actors in this one, again, correct me if I'm wrong, but Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgaard, Willemefo, reteaming with Eggers again. Can you give me a sense of sort of what we can expect from this one? I know to expect the unexpected from Robert Eggers, but what's the world he's creating? It's just so big. It's a huge world. I was already so proud to be a part of it because, you know, I love Rob at this point. friends longer than we've been collaborators. And so to have the opportunity to show up and be like, we get to do the thing that we love together. This is so much fun. Yeah, he's just, he's brought such

commitment and authenticity. And I have to say that for this group of actors, like, if you're making a Robert Eggers movie, you will not be warm and you will not be physically comfortable. Right. And we are all drinking the same Kool-Aid and we're all so gung-ho about everything that it's just truly exciting to be on set like I'm having a blast amazing amazing um indulge me for a second don't worry I know we've got years to talk about Furiosa but I'm just curious about auditioning for that what was the did you get to meet with George in person or is that all like have you met him in person thanks to all insanity what what what how did it go down no um we have not met in person yet we've spent a lot of time on FaceTime, and then we had a great conversation that just, you know,

we basically talked about movies, but we mostly just talked about life. And I just love his brain. I love his brain. I really feel like I connect with it. And, you know, from the second that we finished talking, I was already thinking, like, okay, I'm yours. Totally. Be with me what you will. Yeah, I have a mad obsession with him, no pun intended. He did, I did a fifth anniversary retrospective on Fury Road, like two months ago with George. We spent an hour talking about Fury Road. Yeah, it was amazing. I'll send it over your way.

You'd probably appreciate it. But I'm just curious, like, what's the task at hand? I mean, like, how do you – I take it you have some time before you're actually going to start shooting. But, like, in your brain, what's the prep going to be like to create your own Furiosa and yet honor what sure will. Louise created. Oh, my goodness. And I mean, I think that's the first thing is that, you know, I fell in love with Furiosa the way that Charlize presented her, you know, like that.

She did such an incredible job and it was so beautiful. And yeah, I can't even think about trying to, you know, step into her. It has to be something different because it just can't be done, you know. But I've already started dreaming about her. Like, it's, she's, she's coming in pretty strong. And I, again, I think I'm just, I'm so committed to working as hard as I possibly can because I've always said that I wanted a role that I would have to give everything to. That it wouldn't just be my mind.

It would have to be, okay, your body, like what you're doing with yourself when you're not on set. And I'm just so. excited for that because I hope to, you know, push myself past the limits of what my brain once told me was possible. I hope to go there. I think you will. Has he shown you both scripts and 10,000 storyboards as he's want to do? Like, have you seen all of it? I am so scared of saying anything. I'm not even asking you about the plot. I promise we will talk about this at a later day and I will tell you, I swear, I will tell you absolutely everything. But at this point, it's so you. Okay, okay. I don't want to get you fired. I don't want to get you fired on day two of actually

officially landing the job. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Well, I will just say, yeah, on the note of, you know, obviously I'm a fan of yours and I've enjoyed chatting with you, especially in recent months, but the confluence of this character, this film, you, Hemsworth, my favorite man on the planet, Yaya, who's done the podcast, it's all happening. So to quote the comfort movie, we almost did. I couldn't be more excited for you, my friend. Oh, thank you. Congratulations on the Queen's Gambit. Everybody should check it out.

As I said, it's kind of, it's one of those kind of great miracles that, thank God we have streaming and we have people like Netflix that are kind of like indulging great talents like Scott Frank to explore characters like this because it's well worth your time. And, yeah, I hope we can see each other in the future, hopefully in person again. Let's not do it in these weird boxes on screens. and thanks again for the time today, buddy. No, thank you. Big love. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused.

Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times. And I'm Paul Shear, an actor, writer, and director. You might know me from The League, Veep, or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We love movies, and we come at them from different perspectives.

Yeah, like Amy thinks that, you know, Joe Pesci was miscast in Goodfellas, and I don't. He's too old. Let's not forget that Paul thinks that Dude, too, is overrated. It is. Anyway, despite this, we come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where you talk about good movies, critical hits. Fan favorites, must-season, and case you miss them. We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Night.

We've done deep dives on popcorn flicks. We've talked about why Independence Day deserves a second look. And we've talked about horror movies, some that you've never even heard of like Ganges and Hess. So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic adventure. Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your podcast. And don't forget to hit the Fox. follow button.