Age: 30
female
Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy (/ˈænjə/; born 16 April 1996) is an American actress and voice actress. Born in Miami and raised in Buenos Aires and London, she left school at 16 to pursue an acting career. After several minor television roles, her breakthrough came with a leading role in the horror film The Witch (2015). Her career progressed with roles in the horror film Split (2016) and its sequel Glass (2019), the black comedy film Thoroughbreds (2017), and playing Emma Woodhouse in the period drama Emma (2020). Taylor-Joy featured in the television crime drama series Peaky Blinders (2019–2022) and earned international recognition for playing Beth Harmon in the period drama miniseries The Queen's Gambit (2020), winning a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. She then starred in the horror film Last Night in Soho (2021), the action films The Northman (2022) and The Gorge (2025), and the black comedy The Menu (2022). She also voiced Princess Peach in the animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). She starred as Imperator Furiosa in the apocalyptic film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). Description above from the Wikipedia article Anya Taylor-Joy, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Set in the 16th century, The Heathen Wood follows Elric, a devout Christian woodcutter, and his family, who live on the edge of a vast, ancient forest in a remote village. Following a harsh winter and the mysterious deaths of livestock, the villagers believe the woods are cursed by heathen spirits. Superstition grows rampant, and whispers of witchcraft swirl. Elric is ordered by the village council to venture into the heart of the forest to cut down the Bleak Oak, a towering, ancient tree said to harbor the malevolent spirits of the forest. As he journeys deeper into the woods, his faith begins to falter, and he encounters a strange, pagan woman named Astrid who claims to know the truth about the woods’ power. She tells him that cutting the tree will unleash an ancient evil that has slumbered for centuries. As paranoia grips the village and his own family starts experiencing strange, violent visions, Elric must decide whether to follow the village's orders or heed Astrid's warning. But the deeper Elric delves into the forest, the more he questions reality and his beliefs, as the line between the natural and the supernatural blurs.
