Anya Taylor-Joy on Playing a Different Type of Leading Lady in ‘Lucky’ and Returning to TV After ‘The Queen’s Gambit’

After launching into stardom off of the success of The Queen’s Gambit — and quickly following that up with some major film roles — Anya Taylor-Joy is back on the small screen with her new series Lucky.

In the Apple show, produced by Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine, Taylor-Joy stars as a reformed con artist who is forced to go on the run, attempting to leave her life of crime behind for good. Witherspoon called up the star and asked to produce the series — based off of Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel of the same name — together, as Taylor-Joy “felt like I had something to offer it, I had a take that would serve the story well.”

She told The Hollywood Reporter at the L.A. premiere that her return to TV “feels wonderful” as “it gives you the opportunity to spend more time with these characters and kind of render the video game of the story; you get seven hours rather than two.” And after recently playing an action hero in 2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, she had the stunt chops, but had to approach this role quite differently.

“I have been very fortunate to play characters who are the best in their field in everything they do, and what that gives you is a certain level of protection in the sequences, because you’re making everything very slick,” Taylor-Joy explained. “With Lucky, I was told ‘Hit everything. I want it sloppy, I want you bouncing off the walls,’ so really the only way to do it was just to throw yourself head in. And by the end of it, I did feel like I had run through all of California.”

The series also features a star-studded supporting cast, with Drew Starkey playing Taylor-Joy’s husband and Annette Bening as a dangerous mob leader who is after her.

Starkey, who filmed the show right before shooting the final season of Outer Banks, said Taylor-Joy herself asked him to come play the part, even though they didn’t know each other before.

“She’s an incredible leader, true definition of a leader. She leads with love and you can feel the respect that everyone has for her,” he said of the star. “She’s a hard worker but she makes things light on set. I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do what she did. I was so impressed by her; I have a hard time acting, just acting enough is like, ‘I can’t do this.'”

Lucky starts streaming Wednesday on Apple TV.