First Horror Dinner, then X-Men? Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult on The Menu and a possible Marvel return

For some actors, no role is too big and no role too small. This applies to Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, for example. The two have appeared in X-Men hits like X-Men Days of Future Past and The New Mutants. Both have experience in the dystopian film deserts of George Miller thanks to Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa. Now they show up together with the small, fine and extremely black comedy The Menu in the cinema.

Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult on X-Men pranks, Mad Max and McDonalds

Mark Mylod’s film about a bloody evening in an extremely exclusive star restaurant captivates with a lot of atmosphere, but above all with its cast. In addition to Ralph Fiennes as the chef, there are Taylor-Joy and Hoult as his guests. In the interview they tell enthusiastic about unique restaurant experiences, X-Men and fast food.

Moviepilot: The Menu revolves around a luxurious dinner. How is it as a Hollywood star: Are you often invited to similar receptions and suddenly have to fiddle with five forks?

Nicholas Hoult: I don’t think I’ve ever been invited to a starred restaurant. No restaurant has ever said: “Please come and eat with us.“Nice dinners just happen to me.

Anya Taylor Joy: I was allowed to eat at the top of the Eiffel Tower once. That was completely insane. As I rode the elevator up, I thought, “Would be really funny if they had a McDonalds up here.” France. eiffel tower And then there’s just fast food up there. Most of the time I’m not that smart on the go. I’m more of a fast food guy with a guilty conscience.

You can also eat a whopper with five different forks.

Anya Taylor Joy: Exactly! And every person in the world learned from Titanic that you go from the outside in. But the spoons over the plate confuse me. So are you going in circles?

Nicholas Hoult: I love it when fancy restaurants tell you how to eat stuff. They come in and say, “The chef recommends eating this first and then that.”

Anya Taylor Joy: You see, I don’t know that at all. So you’ve been invited to fine restaurants after all!

Nicholas Hoult: Yes, in preparation for The Menu. They’ll bring you a wine and it’s a perfect match.

The evening then takes a terrible turn for the guests. Have you ever had a real nightmare experience in a restaurant?

Nicholas Hoult: It was never as bad as in the movies [lacht].

Anya Taylor Joy: I haven’t had any murders yet.

Nicholas Hoult: The only thing I hate about restaurants is when it’s too quiet and the tables are too close together. You are sitting in a silent restaurant and everyone can hear your conversation. I just freeze. I don’t want to talk if strangers could overhear me.

Anya Taylor Joy: I hate having to squeeze through that little gap between your table and someone else’s when you need to use the bathroom. Then you knock something over and think, “Hell, actually it’s not my fault!“But you’re still sorry.

Not everyone has the same sense of privacy in the bar. Some people talk next to you about a horrible breakup like it’s nothing.

Anya Taylor Joy: That reminds me of a story. Once I was having dinner with a friend and just as we were about to leave, someone from the couple at the next table yelled really loudly, “You could have at least invited me to the wedding!” So we sat down again and listened. That was better than reality TV.

You both played parts of the X-Men before The Menu. Now should dThe X-Men become part of the MCU. Has Marvel knocked on your door yet?

Anya Taylor Joy:
Especially when it comes to Marvel, people always have ideas or information before we hear even the tiniest bit. I really haven’t the faintest idea. I don’t think any of us can rule anything out.

are you open to it

Anya Taylor Joy:
I have my [X-Men-Figur aus The New Mutants] loved it, it was great! I would like to play them again. But it depends on the universe. I want something that’s either a lot darker or a lot funnier than before.

Nicholas Hoult:
I thought it was great [meine X-Men-Figur Beast] to play. I grew up watching these heroes on TV in the 90’s. Character was very important to me.

How did you prepare for The Menu? Have you watched series like Chef’s Table or Boiling Point? Consciously eaten unusual things? You, Nicholas, play a proven foodie.

Nicholas Hoult:
I actually went out to eat AND checked out Chef’s Table. I was doing all this foodie stuff and reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. I always enjoy doing this research. I love learning new things for a role. But it’s also great when the preparation consists of just munching on good food and sitting in front of the TV.

Anya Taylor Joy:
I just watched TV [lacht].

There is a Chef’s Table episode that introduces a chef who bullied his way to the top. For me, that was always symbolic of the pressure that can prevail in a kitchen.

Anya Taylor Joy:
I’m friends with a chef and an ex-chef. When I first stumbled into his kitchen at age 17, I had no idea the pressure that was there. I had this romantic notion that people just do what they love. But the atmosphere was completely insane and [mein Freund] was extremely tense.

Has The Menu changed your view of fine dining? Are Michelin restaurants overrated?

Nicholas Hoult:
What is exciting about chefs is this mixture of unique artistry and obsession. You see that with filmmakers too. The environment they create in their kitchens to bring out the best in their employees is a creative energy similar to that of a movie set.

Anya Taylor Joy:
Yes, that’s how it is in gastronomy culture, but also in the fashion scene, in art, in drama or in music. There’s this obsessive creative power that can be either a very pleasant experience or a very somber one.

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What do you think of The Menu?