-Thank you for being here. I'm such a big fan.
-Oh, likewise.
But also I'm particularly glad that you're not dead.
-Thank you.
-Because I don't know if you know this,
but you actually saved my life once.
So thank you.
-Did I really? -You really did.
This is actually a true story.
It's pretty cuckoo bananas. As are my shoes.
I'm just saying.
-No, these are fantastic. Can we see these?
These are gorgeous. -I have golden toes.
I don't know why, but okay.
-Yeah. No. They're gorgeous. I love them.
-On the subject of kind of insane fashion,
it was at the Met Gala.
My first and only time being there.
I was wearing a dress that was ridiculously heavy,
and I couldn't really move
and I was just kind of trying to get through the evening.
And at the end of the night, I'm at the top of the stairs.
The gorgeous Hailee Steinfeld walks past me,
has a very complicated, like, three-train thing,
and I get wrapped up in it.
And I'm like, "Oh, I'm going to die.
I'm going to die on the steps of the Met, darling."
[ Laughter ]
But literally just out of nowhere,
the "hand of God" came out
and pulled me out of it, and it was you.
And you were just so sweet about it.
You were like, "Hey, I'm Jimmy. Nice to meet you."
I was like, "Okay."
-Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly right.
-So thank you, Jimmy Fallon.
-No big deal. -Thank you.
-I do remember that. You were going down.
-Yeah. And you were next to Sarah Paulson.
And from that moment on, my night got so much better
'cause I actually knew somebody there.
-Yeah. So we had fun. Oh, good.
I'm so happy you're here and saved your life.
I probably told you,
but I love you in "The Queen's Gambit."
I thought you were so great. You were unbelievable.
[ Cheers and applause ] Congrats on every award.
-Thank you.
-Congrats on every award you got for that thing.
I really loved every second of your acting in that.
I go, "Oh, my gosh. Can't take my eyes off you."
-Thanks. -You were telling me backstage
that you kind of owe your career to the Beach Boys.
-Yeah.
-So, now, walk me through that, how that's real.
-Well -- How that's real? -Yeah.
-So, I grew up listening to the music
of the '50s and the '60s. -Me too.
-That was just, like, my literal jam.
And they were playing, and I just had to --
I just ran to the very front and was singing my heart out.
And Mike Love stopped the concert and said,
"I understand why all of you know all the words to the songs,
but there's a literal child
that is singing, like, every single song.
I'd like to invite her up on stage."
[ Audience awws ]
And, like, pulled me up -- I know.
It's the coolest thing that will ever happen to me.
I peaked at 14. It's the end from now on.
But, yeah, he pulled me up on stage
and then handed me a guitar.
And I looked at him, and I was like,
"I don't know how to play the guitar."
He's like, "No, no. Just go for it."
So I air-guitared like crazy.
The solo was out of this world. -Yes.
You air-guitared -- You actually have a photo of you.
[ Audience awws ]
-look at the face, though. I'm doing nothing.
-You really are --
[ Cheers and applause ] You look great.
So how did this, which is a cool moment in life,
lead to acting and your career?
-Well, then I got scouted for modeling,
which is something I never thought I could do.
Always wanted to act.
So, I brought the video of this, and I asked them
if they believed that I could play the guitar.
And they were like, "Yeah, you're shredding it."
I was like, "Acting."
[ Laughter ]
-"See? I don't even know how to play the guitar!"
-Let me do this.
-Fans are very excited about this.
You're in the new "Super Mario Bros. movie."
This is a big deal. -Yeah.
-Princess Peach. -Yes, sir.
-That's a big deal. And, uh...
[ Cheers and applause ]
I saw this -- I thought this was very fun and very cool of you.
On Halloween, you dressed as Princess Peach.
Did people freak out? Did they go nuts?
-I mean, yes, but, like, the story of this
is that I've been in the desert in Australia for seven months
doing things that are very not Princess Peach
on "Mad Max: Furiosa." -That's right.
-So I had landed back from Australia that morning,
and I had agreed to go to this Halloween party,
but I thought it would be on Halloween.
And so I get a text that morning.
They're like, "Hey, I'll see you tonight."
I was, like, not prepared, no outfit, no nothing.
I have no idea what I'm gonna do.
So I had that pink dress.
A friend of mine sewed the button.
And found one of the many crowns
I have around my apartment and put it on.
No. A gas station. -And that's how you became --
-And then -- Yeah, Princess Peach.
-There you go. That's how you do it.
See? You're making a Princess Peach costume quick.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Can we talk about "the menu"?
-Yes. -I love this movie.
It's so -- It's one of those movies where I didn't know
where it was going to go at all or what was going to happen.
And I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.
How would you describe this?
-Much like the shoes, potentially cuckoo bananas.
I don't even know if that's a phrase.
-Cuckoo bananas. -I started saying it today.
Is it cuckoo bananas or cuckoo banana puffs?
Like, what would you -- -How would I say it?
"That's so cuckoo banana puffs." -Cuckoo banana puffs.
-"Cuckoo bananas" is great.
-The movie is about a couple that signs up
to a very exclusive restaurant on an island.
And it's supposed to be, you know, for the 1% of the 1%.
And, very quickly, things go awry.
But it is bitingly funny.
I've been trying to get through this press tour,
like, inserting as many food puns as I can.
-Oh. "Bitingly." -Bitingly funny.
-Also cuckoo bananas is a little --
-Cuckoo bananas, yeah.
-It's fun. It's funny.
Ralph Fiennes, by the way. Brilliant.
-I know. -It's really good.
I want to show everyone a clip.
Here's Anya Taylor-Joy in "The Menu."
Take a look at this.
-There's only one more savory course left in our menu.
That means we must prepare for dessert.
Dessert requires a large barrel
that is supposed to be there in the corner.
Do you see a barrel?
-No. No, I do not. -Neither do I.
That is because my negligent colleague, Elsa,
forgot to assign someone to bring it.
So, Margot, you will fetch the barrel instead.
-Me? -Yes.
You remember the smokehouse.
-Maybe -- Vague-- I don't --
-Chef, perhaps one of us should --
-Margot is now one of us, Elsa.
Right, Margot?
-Yes. -Yes, what?
-Yes, Chef.
-Yes! [ Cheers and applause ]
Anya Taylor-Joy, everyone!
"The Menu" is in theaters this Friday.
Anya and I are doing something fun after the break.
Stick around, everybody!