Anya Taylor-Joy Talks The Use Of AI In ‘Furiosa’ on ‘Live’: “It’s Strange To See Your Eyes And Mouth On Somebody Else’s Face”

Anya Taylor-Joy let Live with Kelly and Mark viewers in on how director George Miller was able to secure a “seamless” aging transition between her and her character’s younger self in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos welcomed the actress to their eponymous talk show this morning to promote the new prequel, in which Taylor-Joy plays the role of Imperator Furiosa, originated by Charlize Theron. Not only does The Queens Gambit star inhabit the role, but so does Alyla Browne, who portrays an even younger Furiosa.

Ripa posed the question of “how they were able to find a young actress who looked like [Taylor-Joy].”

“How did they go about casting somebody? How did they find somebody that looks like you?” she asked

Taylor-Joy explained that Miller, who “was already getting an audience to accept a new Furiosa,” knew that “whoever the two actors that had to play her, that transition had to be seamless.”

“So, we don’t actually look that much alike,” she continued. “It’s AI, which is really crazy.”

She noted that “they were able to composite [their] faces together, and it works on a scale.”

“So at the beginning of the movie, it’s 35% my face, and then it goes all the way up to 80,” she added.

After both Ripa and Consuelos expressed their shock, Taylor-Joy said, “It’s wild, yeah.”

Ripa replied, “And did that freak you out at all?

In turn, Taylor-Joy highlighted that “it’s strange to see your eyes and mouth on somebody else’s face,” she shared.

“But to be fair, this is what George wanted,” she clarified. “And it is seamless.”

Miller told Variety that he initially thought about having Theron reprise her role and employing de-aging technology, which he witnessed at work in both Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman and Ang Lee‘s Gemini Man. However, while he called both Scorsese and Lee “masterful directors,” he found the technology was “never persuasive.”

“I thought all people would be watching is Charlize looking young and knowing it’s an effect,” he shared. “And as time went on and we got into litigation with Warner Bros, we had to find someone younger.”

Fortunately, he found Taylor-Joy, who stars alongside Chris Hemsworth in the new film, which hits theaters this Friday, May 24.

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.