Rising star Anya Taylor-Joy has never taken an acting lesson.
The actress has won praise for her role in Robert Eggers' film The Witch, which is about a Puritan family encountering forces of evil in the woods beyond their New England farm.
The film, which won the Directing Award in the U.S. Dramatic category at last year's Sundance Film Festival (15), was Anya's first movie role and she has garnered many positive reviews, with a Rolling Stone film critic describing her as a "genuine acting find".
The 19-year-old admits that she had not had any onscreen experience prior to The Witch, but learnt a lot from her colleagues, including Game of Thrones stars Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie, who play Dagmer Cleftjaw and Lysa Arryn in the hit HBO television series.
"I've never taken an acting lesson apart from drama at school, so I really didn't know any of the on-set terminology - I've learned by watching these experienced actors," she told Britain's Marie Claire magazine, adding that she feels "slightly less of a newbie" now.
The actress, who was born in Miami and grew up in London, U.K., also revealed she turned down a role in a major Disney movie so she could star in The Witch as she felt so compelled by the narrative.
"I'd literally only ever watched two or three horror flicks before, but when I got the script I was riveted," she shared, divulging that she really enjoyed filming the indie flick and described it as being "blanketed in love and laughter".
The star found it interesting to see varying audience reactions when The Witch was viewed in different countries.
"Americans are more vocal, but in England we could tell they liked it because it was so silent in the cinema," she noted.
Following her turn in The Witch, the former ballet dancer has scored roles in Morgan, directed by Luke Scott, Ridley Scott's son, and M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller Split.
