Anya starred in the psychological thriller as one of three girls who are kidnapped by a criminal named Kevin, who is suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Kevin has 23 alter egos, and James masterfully portrayed all of them, earning wide critical acclaim for his performance.
Now, nearly a decade since the film's release, Anya opened up about how fortunate she was to act opposite James — and not another actor who apparently signed on for the role before him.
"I was so grateful it was [James], because originally it was supposed to be someone that’s very known for being a method actor," she said during an interview with Olivia Marks on Hits Radio last month. "And if I had been in Philadelphia with a method actor whose intention was to eat me, I think that would have been a different experience."
Continuing to sing James's praises, Anya said he was especially supportive of her and her fellow young costars in the movie, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula.
"I was very grateful to have James, who I think also understood that he had three young women with him," she recalled. "And so, every time after a take, he would just make it a little bit lighter and was very supportive and just a general great guy."
Anya didn't name the "method actor" who was supposed to play Kevin before James took over; however, the clip is picking up traction on Reddit, and it's looking more than likely that she was referring to Joaquin Phoenix.
"For anyone interested, the person cast in the role prior to McAvoy was Joaquin Phoenix," one popular Reddit comment suggested. "Maybe there was other people up for the role that we aren’t aware of, but I’m assuming that is who she is referring to."
"It was Joaquin Phoenix," wrote someone else. "He was officially cast in the part but dropped out shortly before they were set to begin filming." "He was cast in the role but dropped out only a few weeks before filming. McAvoy was a last-minute addition," echoed another.
Now, it is possible that Anya might know something we don't and was talking about somebody else; although, it is true that Joaquin — a known method actor — was connected to Split before James.
In fact, James previously said that he landed the lead role with two weeks' notice after Joaquin apparently dropped out at the last minute. "He’s an amazing actor. He’d give a very different performance than the one I did, but an incredible one," James said in 2024. "Sometimes coming in last-minute is the best way. I think he ditched it two weeks before they started shooting. It was really last-minute. I had a couple of weeks [to prep]. Two weeks."
"The script was well put together, so a lot of it was clear what I wanted to do straight away," he continued. "A couple characters took a little longer to find. Patricia came quick. Hedwig took awhile."
Well, as many people pointed out on Reddit, James's lack of prep time makes his performance "even more impressive." Everything happens for a reason!
This also comes around the same time that Anya called out method actors, highlighting that it's a practice more common among male actors. "I can't imagine keeping it up all the time because again, you're going to work with hundreds of people, and it is your responsibility to be good to them and to help them do their best job,” she told Complex News in July. "If you're too invested in being an asshole, then that's not gonna be very fun."
With that in mind, some have wondered if Anya's comments about Split might be more "subtle shade" toward method actors. "Method isn't an excuse to be a dick," one Reddit user wrote.
You can find Anya's full Hits Radio interview here, and let me know your thoughts.
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