Across a relatively short career, Anya Taylor-Joy has established herself as one of the most exciting and distinctive actors working in mainstream movies. Although she came to prominence via her appearances in genre movies, she’s also proved adept at comedy, drama, and animated voice work. Major auteurs like Robert Eggers, Edgar Wright, David O. Russell and Denis Villeneuve have all recruited her to their projects, whether in starring roles or small supporting parts.
Taylor-Joy’s latest movie teams her with another prominent filmmaker, Scott Derrickson, as she stars alongside Miles Teller in Derrickson’s Apple TV Plus original sci-fi movie “The Gorge," which TG's Alix Blackburn already considers one of the best movies of 2025 so far.
Here are five great movies with Anya Taylor-Joy to stream that showcase her mesmerizing talent and unique screen presence.
‘The Menu’
At first, Taylor-Joy’s character seems like simply a companion to this darkly comedic thriller’s main character, a smug foodie played by Nicholas Hoult. But over time, Taylor-Joy’s Margot emerges as the primary foil to a sadistic celebrity chef played by Ralph Fiennes. Fiennes’ Julian Slowik has carefully curated the guest list for an ultra-exclusive dinner held on a private island, and Margot is the only person who wasn’t invited.
Taylor-Joy’s nuanced performance holds the movie together as it mixes social satire and nasty violence, revealing further layers to Margot as the story progresses. As Julian enacts his diabolical plan to take down the elite industry that has ruined his life, the calm and pragmatic Margot offers him an alternative to nihilistic rage, and Taylor-Joy makes it genuine and convincing.
►Watch on Netflix
‘The Witch’
Both Taylor-Joy and filmmaker Robert Eggers made their mainstream breakthroughs with this bleak and meticulously crafted horror movie set in 17th-century New England. Eggers brings his trademark attention to detail to the story of a Puritan family cast out by their community, attempting to survive on their own during the harsh winter. Almost immediately, the family’s newborn son mysteriously disappears, kidnapped by an unknown assailant.
The challenges of basic survival are complicated by the possible evil supernatural presence lurking in the nearby woods, which takes a particular liking to the teenage Thomasin (Taylor-Joy). Eggers combines the realistic horrors of starvation and cold with the mystical threats that the devout Puritans both fear and misunderstand. Taylor-Joy conveys the empowerment in the timid Thomasin’s gradual embrace of liberating dark forces.
►Rent/buy at Apple or Amazon
‘Split’
Taylor-Joy holds her own against a bravura performance from James McAvoy as a serial killer with dissociative identity disorder and possible superpowers. She plays Casey, one of three teenage girls kidnapped by McAvoy’s maniacal Kevin Wendell Crumb, held captive and forced to contend with Kevin’s various unpredictable alternate personalities. One of those personalities is simply known as the Beast, a monster whom the others are either trying to awaken or hold back.
The resourceful Casey figures out how to pit Kevin’s alters against each other, to use his own fractured mind to her advantage. Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan delivers another twisty genre film that draws on his love of superhero stories, with Taylor-Joy playing a combination of horror-movie final girl and righteous avenger.
►Rent/buy at Apple or Amazon
‘Thoroughbreds’
![THOROUGHBREDS - Official Trailer [HD] - In Theaters March 9, 2018 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TPcV_3D3V2A/maxresdefault.jpg)
As a pair of sociopathic teenagers plotting a murder, Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke capture a friendship that is both horribly toxic and strangely touching. Cold, calculating rich girl Amanda (Cooke) rekindles her friendship with her smart and seemingly more well-adjusted classmate Lily (Taylor-Joy), while both girls are also serving their own manipulative agendas. As their plans become more violent, they find a deeper connection in rejecting conventional morality.
Writer-director Cory Finley's debut feature is a brilliantly written dark comedy that seems perfectly suited for a cult following. Finley demonstrates biting wit, both verbal and visual, with a mix of sharp dialogue and creative composition. The movie builds slowly and inexorably, and the stars draw the audience into the protagonists’ twisted relationship, all the way through the casually brutal finale.
►Rent/buy at Apple or Amazon
‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’
Taking over for Charlize Theron, Taylor-Joy plays a younger version of the warrior Furiosa, first seen in “Mad Max: Fury Road.” This prequel follows Furiosa from her childhood (when she’s played by Alyla Browne) through her development as a fearsome rebel. As in all of the “Mad Max” movies, there's not much of a plot, just a rudimentary post-apocalyptic revenge story between Furiosa and a nasty warlord named Dementus (Chris Hemsworth).
But director George Miller's greatest strength is his mastery of action sequences, and “Furiosa” features some excellent desert chase scenes and large-scale battles between gangs of ruthless marauders. Miller brings a sense of epic scale to the gritty, unforgiving landscape and the punishing battle between Furiosa and Dementus, and Taylor-Joy makes Furiosa into a single-minded weapon of vengeance, just as she should be.
►Watch on Netflix
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