M. Night Shyamalan Gave Anya Taylor-Joy A Direction That Completely Changed Her Perspective On Acting

Anya Taylor-Joy stars in "Split" as Casey Cooke, a traumatized teenager who is kidnapped along with two other girls her age by Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a man with dissociative mental disorder. identity (though inaccurately described) who developed 23 distinct personalities. The three teenagers are meant to be sacrificed in a bizarre ritual that will cause a new personality to emerge in the form of a cannibalistic, superhuman entity dubbed "The Beast." Complications arise when Casey - whose disturbing story slowly unfolds over the course of the film - finds a way to engage with Kevin's many personalities, giving him and the others a chance to escape their dark fate.

"I was told once, I think it was one of my first very emotional scenes [in 'Split'], and M. Night Shyamalan was like, 'I saw you cry, and those are your own tears. Don't be selfish. Give the character her own tears," Taylor-Joy told BBC Radio 1. She said it had "completely changed" the way she thinks about acting," because before that, I always thought it was about digging you in for experiences, and at that point, it was like, 'Oh. He's a person I care for, and I have to feel his feelings out of empathy.'"