Anya Taylor-Joy and Drew Starkey Are Feeling ‘Lucky’ in Apple TV’s High-Stakes Series

Anya Taylor-Joy is back in her action star mode, and she’s taking Drew Starkey along for the ride. In the action-packed thriller, Lucky, the actress slips into the role of a con artist left to fend for herself after a multi-million-dollar heist goes sideways. As she embarks on a cross-country search for her partner-in-crime, shaking the authorities and a crime boss on her tail, she is forced to confront the past she’s trying to outrun. This seven-episode series, helmed by showrunners Jonathan Tropper and Cassie Pappas, is based on The New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Marissa Stapley.

We recently sat down with Taylor-Joy and Starkey to discuss their experiences bringing Luciana ‘Lucky’ Armstrong and Cary Masterson to life.

What drew you to the project?

Anya Taylor-Joy (ATJ): I love con movies; they are always very slick and sexy. But I think what attracted me to Lucky was that it offers a very different vision of what it is to be somebody who can never sit still; somebody who has to keep moving and taking from other people in order to survive. That was a side of the con that I hadn’t seen before, and that’s what I was excited to bring to life.

What was it like preparing for your role?

Drew Starkey (DS): I don’t know, all the normal things. There were a lot of conversations with our directors and showrunners, and then just showing up on the day and letting it fly. Anya kind of brought me into this and really pitched it to me well. I was just excited to be on it with such a great team. And then, of course, you have a great source material to work off of, which is always a gift.

How did you toe the line between following the script and the book?

ATJ: Jonathan wanted to up the stakes and make this a very muscular television ride for everybody. So that was when I knew that we were going to depart slightly from the book. Luckily, Marissa was very encouraging of us going in that direction. I fell in love with Lucky in the book, but then the more that we fleshed out the world she was going to live in, the more the enigma intrigued me. So that’s sort of what I followed.

Much of the story here is about familial relationships. What is your take on it?

DS: There’s a big question about destiny and fate. I think we’re all kind of born into this idea that we’re meant to go down a certain road. For Cary, he’s constantly in confrontation with the road laid out in front of him. So when he finds someone who has had similar life experiences, in two totally different worlds in a way, they’re able to kind of shape their own fate. There’s some hope in that, and hope within each other for the two of them.

Did the show change how you think about people who have shaped your journey?

ATJ: It makes me think about doors. You know that old expression, “when a door closes, a window opens”, or something like that. The idea that everything is potentially supposed to happen in a certain way, or whatever you focus on is the thing that magnifies. Somebody can let you down, but then you can meet somebody else, and they’ll open up a whole other world of possibilities.

Was there anything that you saw in the script that made your heart sink when you realised you were going to have to do it?

ATJ: The opposite. I think we were so excited, especially for the car chase sequence, which used something called pod cars. We locked down all of Long Beach for it. So we were in a car, but there were stunt drivers above us manoeuvring the vehicle, and they’re like, “To your left!”, and you just sat there and went, (gasps), which felt a bit ridiculous. I’ve never done anything like that.

Did you rehearse the physicality and visual storytelling beforehand?

DS: There’s a long argument scene in episode four that made me feel like we were rehearsing for a short play. So the blocking and the choreography were very important to finding it. I think we discovered some things emotionally just through that, through these two characters’ relationship with each other in the room. So that was a really fun challenge and task to take on.

Lucky’s father, John, always tells her that “you’re only in danger when you’re not in control.” As an actor, how do you maintain control over your career and acting choices?

ATJ: I think it’s a dance. You can control certain things, but if you’re going to be surprised by the universe, you have to leave some space for the divine. You can’t plan certain things that would work out far better than you could ever imagine. My production company, Ladykiller, allows me to be obsessed with the things that I’m obsessed with. I’m not just interested in why it works, but how it works. So if I am part of those discussions, I’d get to show up and relinquish control because I would’ve done all the preparation beforehand.

Had Lucky and Cary met under normal circumstances, do you think they would still fall in love with each other?

DS: We did (talk about this before). What did we say? They still would have gotten together. There is certainly a level of trauma bonding happening between the two of them. But that can only go so far. Once you get past that, you’d see that these are two people who truly love each other and they’re willing to go to the end of the world with each other for it. That said, I think in the end, they’re probably not the best match.

Can you share some of the between-takes moments that you cherished?

DS: Well, we did start the shoot in Las Vegas, which was incredible. We had to shoot overnight in order for us to use the casino at Caesar’s Palace. That was the only way you could do it. I mean, what a great way to jump into something, just as a crew and as a cast member. So I gambled a little bit in between takes.