“It felt very good to be a wish come true. I’d never really experienced that before,” Taylor-Joy told UPI.
1 of 4 | Anya Taylor-Joy and Drew Starkey star in “Lucky,” premiering Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Apple TV
The Queen’s Gambit and Furiosa star Anya Taylor-Joy says she didn’t know she was the inspiration for the heroine of author Marissa Stapley’s bestselling novel, Lucky, until after she agreed to play the character in Apple TV’s adaptation of the book.
“It was so wonderful because I kind of heard about it late,” Taylor-Joy, 30, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
“It was only really when I met Melissa and she told me, ‘I manifested you for this.’ And, so, it felt very good to be a wish come true. I’d never really experienced that before.”
Premiering Wednesday, the show follows the titular con woman as she is forced to go on the run after her partner betrays her. Outer Banks actor Drew Starkey play’s Lucky’s husband Cary and Annette Bening portrays Cary’s ruthless mobster mother Priscilla.
“Lucky is smart and traumatized and heavily guarded and trying her best and madly in love with Cary, I think, sometimes, to the point of blindness. But they both have trust issues,” Taylor-Joy said. “They’ve got big trust issues. They’re mirrors of [each other.]”
Starkey, 32, agreed with that summary.
“Two poles interacting with one another can kind of create something with a lot of energy. But, in the middle of all that, there’s a deep love for one another,” Starkey explained.
“There’s something paternal that’s been missing their entire lives and they found that with each other amidst all the chaos.”
“When they can get out of their own way, they have a good time and they’re caring,” Taylor-Joy said.
“That’s what they want,” Starkey said. “That’s absolutely what they want.”
Playing John — the criminal who raised Lucky to read the room, trust no one and take no shortcuts — is Justified and Deadwood icon Timothy Olyphant.
“[Bening and Olyphant] are such dreams. I feel very fortunate to be able to say that everyone we wanted to be a part of this show, from the producing standpoint, we got,” Taylor-Joy said.
“We got fantastic actors who are also marvelous people and we all had such a good time making the show. That’s not always the case, but I feel for this one, we were just really, really lucky.”
Starkey described Bening as “a force” and said he had long admired her as an artist.
“It is always strange getting to work with people that you look up to. But, as soon as you start, you know that you’re each other’s co-workers and you have to see each other as equals,” he noted.
“Everyone did that. It felt like it felt like a collaboration. Everyone’s open and Annette just loves to play and it feels free. I learned a lot.”
Another aspect of the project the stars loved was filming scenes set in Las Vegas IN Las Vegas.
“It was so fantastic because it was how we began our show. It was how we all got to know each other. Drew and I had met briefly, prior to going in and then we all got thrown into this kind of nocturnal, wild existence for 12 days,” Taylor-Joy said.
“It was hardcore and fabulous, because I feel like you really get to know who a person is at 7 a.m. on the fourth day of being entirely nocturnal and everyone was kind, and down, and excited to be doing it. So, it set us off on the right foot.”
It's your lucky day.
The first two episodes of #Lucky are now streaming. pic.twitter.com/uMJ4ijM3yu— Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 15, 2026
