Netflix star Anya Taylor-Joy wowed fans after speaking with a subtle Scottish accent on The Graham Norton Show.
The 24-year-old Queen’s Gambit actress appeared on Friday night’s episode to talk about the show’s worldwide success after amassing 62 million views since its launch.
The Spanish speaking actress was born in Miami before soon moving to Argentina with her Scottish-Argentine father Denis Alan Taylor and African mother Jennifer Marina Joy.
Due to the precarious political situation, the family moved to London when Anya was only six years old, much to the dismay of being far from where she considered her home.
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Realizing she would be in the UK for the foreseeable future, Anya gave up and decided to learn English two years later by reading JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
She was then delighted to star opposite Harry Milling in The Queen’s Gambit after first seeing him in his role as Potter’s evil cousin, Dudley Dursley, in the film.
She told Graham Norton: “I learned to speak English by reading Harry Potter books, and it might sound silly, these characters were really my first friends.
“I’m still a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and I love the movies.
“I only learned English when I was eight because I was convinced that if I didn’t speak the language my parents would have to take me home, but that failed miserably.
Image Credit: BBC/Comic Relief/Getty Images
Fans soon discovered her slightly Scottish voice during an interview with BBC and responded enthusiastically on social media.
One wrote: “On seeing Anya-Taylor Joy (Queen’s Gambit) in Graham Norton, she only started speaking English at eight, but this accent certainly has a Scottish edge. Love this.”
Another said, “Anya Taylor-Joy’s accent is pure theatrical art. Creative. Scottish? RP in English? American? Why not the three? Someday?”.
Another fan shared a GIF of Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, tweeting: “Just heard Anya Taylor Joy speak in her own accent for the first time!”
A fourth tweeted: “Damn, Anya Taylor-Joy has a Scottish accent.”
The actress, who made her debut in the fantasy series Atlantis, seems to have confused viewers with her hybrid accent.
Some were convinced they had heard Scottish truffles appear during a recent Netflix show and previous interviews.
One fan tweeted: “I’ve watched Queen’s Gambit at least a dozen times, and now I’m sure that when Anya Taylor-Joy says ‘I’m going to do a food fix’ it’s the only time she looks like she has a Scottish accent and is a handsome moment.”
Others wrote: “I just saw my first interview with Anya Taylor-Joy and I love her…is she Scottish? He has some very soft Scottish ways of saying words.”
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