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12th Apr 2023

Anya Taylor-Joy reveals how Jack Black helped her learn to speak English

Simon Kelly

Anya Taylor-Joy reveals Jack Black helped her learn English

There is nothing Jack Black cannot do.

Anya Taylor-Joy has revealed that her Super Mario Bros. Movie co-star Jack Black had a big influence on her learning English.

The 26-year-old actor was born in Miami and raised in Argentina before moving to London at the age of six. A native Spanish speaker, she told Buzzfeed that she would watch movies to help her learn English, with one in particular having a major influence.

“Yeah, at the school I went to when I first moved to London they would play School of Rock every Friday. At that time, I didn’t really speak much English, if any, so that and Harry Potter and Jumanji are like how I learned English!”

Taylor-Joy was over the moon to be working with the School of Rock star on the Super Mario movie, but since it was a voice-only role the two only met for press after filming.

“I didn’t realise I was going to be doing the press day for this movie with Jack Black, so when I read that, the sound that came out of me was just this high pitch shriek that I was not expecting!

“We haven’t met each other because we all recorded our parts individually, so I was super starstruck when I saw the schedule for today. I very seldom get like that, but I was just running around earlier like, ‘oh my God, Tenacious D, this is amazing’.”

The Menu star also revealed that ‘Tribute’ by Tenacious D is one of her karaoke songs, further cementing her love for Black.

“I’d die [if I could sing it with him]. Literally, I think part of the reason why my best friend and I decided we were friends in the space of an evening was because she started singing it once, and I leapt up from the dining room table and was like, ‘we got this, we’re gonna perform the hell out of this right now!'”

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has already smashed the global box office, grossing $375.6 million worldwide, making it the biggest worldwide opening of all time for an animated movie. With those numbers, we expect multiple sequels and perhaps some more opportunities for a cast karaoke night-out.

Check out our own interview with Jack Black below, where he reveals his ultimate karaoke song choice!

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