The Knockturnal was on the red carpet for the 26th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards on Monday, November 28 at Cipriani Wall Street.
The evening was presented by Fiji Water, Deep Euphoria Calvin Klein and Landmark Vineyards. Winning the Breakthrough Actor award was Anya Taylor-Joy, for her performance in The Witch as Thomasin, the teenage daughter of a Puritan family in 17th century New England, who becomes central to the supernatural disruption of their lives.
Lily Gladstone in Certain Women (IFC Films), Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea (Amazon Studios), Royalty Hightower in The Fits (Oscilloscope Laboratories) and Sasha Lane in American Honey (A24) were also nominated. The Breakthrough Actor jury included Eric Bogosian, Ross Katz, Sophia Lin, Gabourey Sidibe, and Dylan Tichenor.
So tell me how excited are you to be here at Gotham Awards?
Anya Taylor-Joy: Absolutely excited. I’ve got Rob and Ally, his wife, at my table, and they’re my best friends so it’s nice to be at dinner with your best friends.
Always. So tell me a little bit about The Witch. Did you expect that it would become such a big hit?
Anya Taylor-Joy: Well, it’s not that I didn’t expect it to be a big hit. I was very much aware that we were making a really great movie, but I also know that the people who make the movie, including myself, are kind of weird, and so we were just like we really get it, let’s hope other people get it, but they did, and I feel really honored to be here.
What’s it like to be included in such incredible company? Jennifer Lawrence was nominated.
Anya Taylor-Joy: I think it’s overwhelming a little bit. I try not to think about it too much so I’m trying to just think about being here and having a wonderful dinner with people I really respect and admire. So, that’s what this is about for me.
How did you get your start in acting, and how did you become passionate about it?
Anya Taylor-Joy: I always knew I wanted to be an actor. I then got scouted on the street to be a model, and I met a wonderful actor called Allen Leech at a photo shoot, and he heard me recite some poetry and hooked me up with my agent and then I got The Witch.
Wow! Good story, so what is coming up next for you?
Anya Taylor-Joy: I’ve got three movies in the pipeline for January. One is at Sundance. One comes out December 16th on Netflix about Obama, and one comes out January 20th which is called Split.
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What do you play in Barry?
Anya Taylor-Joy: I play the amalgamation of Obama’s three white college girlfriends.
How was that experience working on the movie?
Anya Taylor-Joy: Amazing. It was also my first movie in New York, and New York has always been my spiritual home, and so to shoot here was just an absolute dream come true.
How is it to be part of the Netflix family now?
Anya Taylor-Joy: It’s awesome. Netflix is killing it, and they really trust their directors. They give them the space to be artistic and fearless, and I’m indebted to them absolutely. They’ve been really knocking it out of the park.
In Barry, they focus on his college years?
Anya Taylor-Joy: Yeah, it’s his first year at Columbia. It’s a beautiful coming of age story. I think it could be applicable to anyone. It just happens that the man we are focusing on became the President of the United States. But it’s beautiful, and it touches on a whole bunch of subjects that I think right now are very prevalent, so I think people will really enjoy it. I actually just dyed my hair back to my original color. I was a brunette for that one.
We spoke with Anya in the green room after her big win.
You won! Reaction?
Anya Taylor-Joy: I’m so overwhelmed. I’m also incredibly awkward. I will never watch this video of myself accepting an award. I’m clearly very, very uncool.
You looked genuinely surprised.
Anya Taylor-Joy: I am genuinely surprised. To be honest, it’s what I was telling you guys before. I didn’t think about it, because I knew I was going to be freaked out, and so the winning fact is like, “Oh, sh*t. Okay, I got to go upstairs and talk now.” Yeah, genuine surprise.
Well, you must be happy with the gown. It’s the perfect gown.
Anya Taylor-Joy: Gucci’s got my back. Yeah, absolutely. They got my stuff together.
I was looking through IMDb. Are you in a movie called Thoroughbred?
Anya Taylor-Joy: I am in a movie called Thoroughbred. Yeah.
Was it Anton Yelchin’s last movie?
Anya Taylor-Joy: Yes it is.
Oh wow. That’s poignant.
Anya Taylor-Joy: He’s an incredibly special human being, and he has an incredible performance in this.
