The Northman star, Anya Taylor-Joy, is revealing that she had asked to be the mermaid in Robert Eggers' previous feature, The Lighthouse, but the director said no. The actress made her first film appearance in Eggers' directorial debut, The Witch, back in 2016 and has since gone on to become one of Hollywood's most sought after young stars. In the years since her performance as Thomasin in the critically acclaimed horror film, Taylor-Joy has landed leading roles in projects like Split, Thoroughbreds, Emma, Last Night in Soho, and the Netflix limited series The Queen's Gambit, for which she won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award. Now, in The Northman, set to be released on April 22, 2022, she finds herself teaming up with Eggers once again.
Despite her close connection with Eggers and eagerness to reunite following her work on The Witch, Taylor-Joy was absent from his last film, 2019's The Lighthouse, though with a focus on only two characters, it did not appear there was a role for her to play. In that film, Robert Pattinson and William Dafoe play lighthouse keepers in the 1890s who quickly descend into madness when a storm traps them on the small island where they are stationed. After Pattinson's character, Winslow, finds a scrimshaw of a mermaid tucked away in his decrepit lodging, he decides to keep it, though his fixation on it causes him to have hallucinations and a frighteningly realistic encounter with the creature.
Now, in speaking with NME, Anya Taylor-Joy reveals she had asked Robert Eggers to play the small part of the mermaid in The Lighthouse. She says that the director had called her about the film, but noted that there was no role for her, and when she suggested playing the mermaid, he advised against it. Read her quote regarding joining The Northman after not appearing in Eggers' previous project below:
"I was jumping at it because when he first called me and was like, ‘Hey I’m making The Lighthouse and there’s no role for you. There’s a mermaid…” I was like, ‘I can be the mermaid!’ He was like, ‘You really should not be this particular mermaid, Anya.’ I was like, ‘I can be the seagull, I can just be in the background.’"
While she might have felt like she missed out on The Lighthouse, Anya Taylor-Joy is praising The Northman and has expressed her excitement in being involved in Eggers' upcoming film. She has been open in the past about how working with him has informed how she approaches other projects and says that the two of them have been friends for a long time now. She has also stated how proud she was to be a part of The Northman, where she plays the role of Olga, explaining that it is something the world has not seen before.
For fans of both Anya Taylor-Joy and Robert Eggers, it must be exciting to learn how close the two are, and it is interesting to think about what The Lighthouse would have looked like if the actress appeared as the mermaid. Considering Taylor-Joy's attachment to the director's Nosferatu remake, we will likely see more collaborations in the future. For now though, fans can look forward to viewing their reunion when The Northman hits theaters later this month.
Source: NME