Anya Taylor-Joy has become one of the most influential actresses in contemporary cinema, with standout performances in The Witch, The Queen’s Gambit, Split, and Emma. Yet her entire career may trace back to a single film that inspired her childhood dream of acting: Neil Jordan’s Interview with the Vampire.
In a recent Letterboxd interview promoting Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga alongside Chris Hemsworth, Taylor-Joy revealed that the 1994 Gothic classic, starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Kirsten Dunst, sparked her desire to become an actress. She admired not only the dark Gothic tone of the movie but also its sense of camp, explaining: “I love just anything Gothic… seeing those two guys [Pitt and Cruise] have so much fun in those roles made me want to be an actress.”
The Gothic atmosphere of Interview with the Vampire resonates strongly with Taylor-Joy’s body of work. Her breakthrough role in The Witch embodied folk horror, while The Miniaturist echoed Gothic traditions reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier and Charlotte Brontë. Even The Menu carried macabre undertones, reflected in her real-life Gothic-themed wedding featuring candelabras and dark embroidery.
Taylor-Joy also noted her appreciation for the campy aesthetics of Jordan’s film: opulent sets, extravagant costumes, and sweeping melodrama. These elements can be traced in her later films such as Last Night in Soho, with its lush visual style, and The Northman, an epic steeped in violence and myth, mirroring the grandeur of Interview with the Vampire.
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While Taylor-Joy’s filmography extends far beyond her early influences, the connection between her Gothic tastes and the camp legacy of Interview with the Vampire is undeniable. As she admitted, seeing Pitt, Cruise, and Dunst perform made her want to “play in that way”—a desire that continues to shape her unique acting choices and keeps her work aligned with the Gothic and dramatic traditions she cherishes.
