Anya Taylor-Joy reveals why she cried before filming her 'daunting' role in 'Split'

Rising star Anya Taylor-Joy calls her role of Casey in M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming film "Split" quite a "daunting" undertaking, so much so that she admits to crying after the first time she read the script.

"I come from a place of love, and I love her so much," Taylor-Joy explained about her tormented character. "I really feel for her, which also means that I feel her pain. I'll always remember after the first read-through -- and I knew it would be daunting to get into this headspace -- I just cried, because I felt for her so deeply."

SEE ALSO: Surprisingly common thing 'Split' star James McAvoy recently did for the 'first time'

In addition to her own performance, which she delivers with intense emotional depth, Taylor-Joy made sure to call out McAvoy for his tour de force turn as Kevin, who has 23 other personalities living inside him.

"James performs so beautifully," she gushed. "His work is truly epic in this film. I could tell [which character] I was speaking to just from, you know, a flicker of an eyebrow or the turn of a mouth."

Watch my full conversation with Anya Taylor-Joy above. Split hits theaters on Friday, Jan. 20.

See photos of Anya Taylor-Joy:

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