Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller play a pair of isolated soldiers whose skills and strong bond help them through an extended mission guarding an isolated and mysterious location inThe Gorge. The upcoming Apple TV+ movie was directed by Scott Derrickson (The Black Phone,Sinister,Doctor Strange) from a screenplay by Zach Dean (The Tomorrow War). The ensemble cast of the movie also includes iconicAlienandGhostbustersstarSigourney Weaver alongsideGangs of London’s Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù andWednesday’s William Houston.
Neither of the stars of theupcomingThe Gorgeis a stranger to leading movies in a variety of genres.Miles Teller is likely best known for his role in the Oscar-winning music dramaWhiplash,which was helmed byLa La Landdirector Damien Chazelle. However, he has also held major roles in a wide range of movies and television shows, including the legacy action sequelTop Gun: Maverick(in which he starred opposite Tom Cruise), the dystopian young adult adaptationDivergent(opposite Shailene Woodley and Theo James), and the miniseriesThe Offer(which followed the making ofThe Godfather).
All Anya Taylor-Joy Movies Ranked From Worst To Best
From her early career to her lead roles in the 2020s, all Anya Taylor-Joy movies showcase her tremendous talent, from the worst to the best.
Anya Taylor-Joy first rose to prominence as the lead character in the well-regarded Robert Eggers horror movieThe Witchin 2015. Since then, she has taken on a variety of lead roles in notable projects including the M. Night Shyamalan horror-thrillerSplit, the Netflix chess miniseriesThe Queen’s Gambit, the 2020 Jane Austen adaptationEmma., the dark comedy thrillerThe Menu, and the animated smash hitThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. She also led theFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagacast,playing a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character fromMad Max: Fury Road.
ScreenRantinterviewed Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller before they took the stage as part of the AppleTV+ panel at CCXP24 in São Paulo, Brazil. Amid the hustle and bustle of the world’s largest pop culture convention, both seemed thrilled to be able to share the moment together and discuss what a good time they had making their new movie. As it turns out,their bond was forged long before cameras rolled onThe Gorge, which is something they discussed between gushing about the movie’s realistic sets and describing its unique collision of genres.
Miles Teller & Anya Taylor-Joy’s Friendship Fueled The Gorge In Multiple Ways
“[We Have] Loved Each Other For A Really Long Time”
ScreenRant: Whether it’s a person, part of the script or something else, what’s the thing for both of you that most got you excited to say yes to starring inThe Gorge?
Anya Taylor-Joy: [What got me the] most excited, I have to say, is working with this one. Miles and I have known each other for a really long time, loved each other for a really long time, and I’m a really big fan of his acting, so I wanted to work with you.
Miles Teller: I can echo that, absolutely. I think Anya is just a phenomenal actress, and we had known each other coming into this, and I’ve never really had that experience before where I already felt like I had a bond with somebody going into a story. And then scriptwise, I just thought it was just highly original. Nobody’s ever seen anything like this. I had never read something like this, and I thought that was going to be a lot of fun, and I knew we were going to get to showcase a lot of different skills, and there’s a lot of different genres in this thing.
This is a story about people with a literal gulf between them who are forging a bond. Since you had that real-life bond beforehand, is that something you found really easy or did you have to try and keep yourself separate at first to kind of build that relationship dynamic?
Anya Taylor-Joy: No, no, we did, at the very beginning… We had all the best intentions that we really wanted to be there for each other, and for each other’s coverage. And then the first day I showed up and Miles was in his tower and they put me on a pulley thing and I was like, “This is just not going to [work], we can’t see each other.” But yeah, I think having that relationship was just invaluable because you have a shorthand and you can sort of understand the way the other person moves, and that helps in every way. With the weapons, even. By the time the two of us were fighting together, there’s just such an awareness of each other that was really fun and really useful, honestly.
Anya Taylor-Joy And Miles Teller Spent Plenty Of Time In The Gorge’s Real-Life Towers
“[My Tower] Was The Fun Tower”
So you’re talking about being on a pulley versus being on a tower. What is actually in the room with you when you’re shooting in the towers overlooking the gorge? What did that look like on set?
Anya Taylor-Joy: The towers are real. They’re not as tall as they are in real life, but the towers are fully real. The difference is we could visit each other in each other’s towers whenever we wanted. Miles spent a lot of time in my tower because it was the fun tower. We had music and flowers, I had a piano, I was just rocking it.
Miles Teller: It must be nice living high on the hog over here, I’ve got nothing. [Chuckles]
Anya Taylor-Joy: [Laughs] But yeah, I will say the beauty of this film in particular is because we did shoot on location for a lot of it, there’s that sort of feeling of like, “Ugh, are we going to miss something when something’s made on a sound stage?” And props to the departments, it looked incredible.
Anya Taylor-Joy Was Grateful The Gorge Did Not Use Much Green Screen
“I Struggle With The Color”
The realism must help you get into the right headspace rather than just having to play against a tennis ball.
Anya Taylor-Joy: 100%.
Miles Teller: [Anya,] have you done the tennis ball thing?
Anya Taylor-Joy: Very, very briefly. I struggle with the color, but the color makes me feel nauseous.
Miles Teller: Oh right, I remember you saying that.
Anya Taylor-Joy: Yeah, if I go into a fully green, green room, I’m just like, “[Pained groan].”
So no big, all-green-screen movies in your future?
Anya Taylor-Joy: Ehh, I’d struggle. [Chuckles]
Miles Teller: There’s a shot, I think that just got released in Vanity Fair, where we’re on this Jeep being pulled up, and I believe there’s a green screen in the background there. But with that being said, we’re still being pulled upward on this Jeep.
Anya Taylor-Joy & Miles Teller Were Enthusiastic About The Movie’s Valentine’s Day Release
“I Think People Will Have A Fun Time Watching It”
This movie is going to drop on February 14th, which is Valentine’s Day. What about this movie makes it good for Valentine’s Day viewing?
Anya Taylor-Joy: I think it’s got something for everybody. I think whatever floats your boat, we probably have it in this movie. It’s so many different genres and it’s fun. I had a great time making it, and I think people will have a fun time watching it.
Miles Teller: Well, I just think it’s good alternative programming, as well, to your typical love story, and they meet each other for the first time, and you’re going to watch ‘em fall in love. But they have to go through some really entertaining, engaging, high-octane, hellacious s–t to end up with each other, so that’s cool.
AboutThe Gorge
Two highly-trained operatives (Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy) are appointed to posts in guard towers on opposite sides of a vast and highly classified gorge, protecting the world from an undisclosed, mysterious evil that lurks within. They bond from a distance while trying to stay vigilant in defending against an unseen enemy. When the cataclysmic threat to humanity is revealed to them, they must work together in a test of both their physical and mental strength to keep the secret in the gorge before it’s too late.
The Gorge
Cast
The Gorge follows two elite snipers assigned to guard opposite sides of a deep, impenetrable gorge. As they undertake their mysterious mission, they remain unaware of what lies beneath them, testing their skills and resolve in this suspense-filled narrative.
