United Kingdom, July 2 -- Anya Taylor-Joy went into acting because she wanted to "ride" a whale.

The 30-year-old star was fascinated by large animals when she was growing up and after initially setting her sights on a "made-up job" studying her favourite creatures, she was then inspired to change direction after watching the 1993 family drama Free Willy, which tells the story of a young orphan and his friendship with a captive orca.

Discussing what she would have done if she hadn't been an actress, Anya told Extra: "I really wanted to be a made-up job, which was a large animal biologist. I really wanted to work with tigers and orcas, and I needed to find a job that like combined those two mammals together.

"So, I think I'd probably be ...