Anya Taylor-Joy learned English by watching School of Rock

Anya Taylor-Joy has revealed she learnt English by watching Jack Black’s School of Rock, which naturally meant she was pretty ‘starstruck’ when he became her co-star on The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The pair star alongside one another in the new flick voicing Princess Peach and Bowser respectively, with the cast also featuring the likes of Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Seth Rogen and Keegan-Michael Key.

Black has become something of a surprise standout from the movie, thanks to an incredible performance of ‘Peaches’, an ode to Princess Peach that has now landed in the iTunes Top 100.

But it turns out Taylor-Joy and Black actually go way back – well, kind of, albeit slightly one-sided.

The Queen’s Gambit star, 26, said she was not only a fan of Black’s band Tenacious D when she was younger, but also his hit comedy School of Rock.

In fact, she was such a huge fan, that the film ended up serving as a tool to help her learn English after she first moved to London, having watched it every week.

Paramount

While she was born in Miami, Florida, Taylor-Joy lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina until she was six, before her family moved to England.

Speaking to BuzzFeed, she recalled: “At the school I went to when I first moved to London they would play 2003 film 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 also added that she didn’t meet Black until the press tour, having obviously been stuck in sound booths to record their vocals for the animated flick, rather than acting in person.

Searchlight Pictures

“I didn’t realize 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!” she said.

”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.”

And no doubt the duo are happy with their efforts, as The Super Mario Bros. Movie has now broken two cinematic records after winning the global weekend box office, as well as officially having the biggest worldwide opening ever for an animated film.