ANYA TAYLOR-JOY was mesmerising as she played a chess whizz in Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit.
But she may want to brush up on the art of “grinning and bearing it” after onlookers spotted her looking furious following an awkward run-in with the cast of Fantastic Four in London on Wednesday night.
Anya was apparently dropped from the upcoming instalment of the Marvel blockbuster after being locked in talks to play the Silver Surfer.
And when she almost bumped into the film’s stars, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Vanessa Kirby, as well as director Matt Shakman, at Chiltern Firehouse, she was spotted making a quick exit.
She was seen running out of the restaurant doing her best not to be pictured at 8.34pm, three minutes after going inside.
She then jumped into her waiting chauffeur-driven car and left in a hurry.
An onlooker told us: “Anya looked happy and relaxed when she arrived for dinner.
“But she left about five minutes later looking pretty annoyed.
“It turned out that Pedro, Joseph and Vanessa were all inside eating and it seems Anya saw them and turned on her heel.
“She made a quick exit and seemed to be pretty angry by the look of her face.
“It was pretty quiet when she arrived around 8.30pm because of the football, so it wasn’t as if there was an issue of space.
“Seeing as she was axed from Fantastic Four, it makes sense that she wouldn’t have wanted to hang around.”
Pedro, Joseph, Vanessa and Matt were later seen leaving the restaurant just before 11pm.
It was widely reported last year that Anya was going to play the Silver Surfer in the new Marvel film.
But in April it was revealed that Julia Garner had been cast in the part.
Anya has had a busy start to the year and has not long come off the publicity circuit with Chris Hemsworth for their film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
The actress told how she had pushed herself to the limit for the role, saying: I knew I was going to need the two years that it took for the movie to come out to deal with it.
“I’ve never been more alone than making that movie.
“I don’t want to go too deep into it, but everything that I thought was going to be easy was hard.”
Maybe a break is the best thing for her.
I’d be putting my feet up with a cocktail.
KYLIE MINOGUE has confirmed my story that she has a new album on the way – just ten months after dropping her 16th studio record Tension.
The Aussie pop star appeared on Radio 2 yesterday to premiere her single, My Oh My with Tove Lo and Bebe Rexha, and said it will be part of a bigger project.
She explained: “You know I like to stay busy and you know I like to always have something up my sleeve.
“So you could hazard a guess that this is the start of more to come.
“You won’t have to wait too long.
“There’s plenty, shall we say, and I’m full of excitement.
“I have travelled with my studio for the last year and a half.”
Kylie will headline BST Hyde Park in London tomorrow night, topping a line-up that also features Marina, Ella Henderson and Brazilian sensation Anitta.
But any fans not able to make it down there shouldn’t be put off.
Asked if there will be a UK tour – which would be her first since 2019 – Kylie added: “I mean, it would stand to reason, wouldn’t it?
“There’s gotta be somewhere for all this new music to live.”
HER life was turned upside down by Taylor Swift fans rounding on her due to her friendship with Joe Alwyn.
But it seems Emma Laird, who stars in upcoming film The Brutalist with Joe, has found someone to make her smile again.
My exclusive picture shows the actress with Gorillaz keyboardist Jesse Hackett on a day out in North London.
An onlooker said: “They looked just like any other couple going out to the shops together.
“They seemed very happy.”
THE picante cocktails were flowing at the after party Kit Harrington threw following his opening night play.
Writer Jeremy O Harris, along with singer Shygirl and actress Tessa Thompsonwere at the bash in Soho House’s 180 Strand in London to celebrate the new West End show Slave Play, starring the Game Of Thrones actor.
I’m told the group partied until the early hours on the rooftop as the reviews for the production rolled in.
And given it got almost four stars across the board, I can imagine there was a lot for them to toast to.
THEY paused their gig at London’s O2 Arena to watch the brilliant Ollie Watkins put England in the Euros final in Germany.
But that wasn’t the only moment that stopped play for The Killers.
They were also presented with two Guinness World Records for their 2003 track Mr Brightside.
With a total of 416 weeks, the indie anthem has achieved the most cumulative weeks on our singles chart and the longest stay on the UK singles chart by a group.
That’s eight years in the Top 100.
Backstage, singer Brand Flowers said: “It’s still infectious to us.
“There’s going to be people tonight who’ve never seen it live, there’ll be some people who’ve seen it 45 times.
“And we just don’t get tired of it.”