Anya Chalotra sent the internet into a flurry in 2019 when she stepped into the boots of a bold, glamorous sorceress. Presently, in its third season, The Witcher has caught the attention of viewers around the globe. One of the reasons that people loved this fantasy feature is this charming actress. The budding star proved her acting prowess with her stellar performance of Yennefer of Vengerberg. And it goes without saying she has adapted to this role so well that it’s hard to imagine Yen without her.

Meanwhile, fans would feel astounded to know that the casting of this Indian-origin actor was not a coincidence. Or how many projects she did with Netflix previously. Instead, the casting director had something entirely different in her mind that she wanted to tell the audience.

Anya Chalotra was cast to transform the mindset of people 

The Witcher‘s casting director Sophie Holland recently sat down with Variety to talk about finding diversity in roleplay. This conversation also revealed why she pushed Anya Chalotra for the Yennefer of Vengerberg. The UK-based director first praised the showrunner Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich, who always welcomes new ideas. Then she dwelled on how origin books of the fantasy drama have always described this mage as the most attractive woman in the world.

The description of the character has always been the main idea, but things have started changing, she feels. However, people still seem biased “..especially in the fantasy world, it felt like these worlds were predominantly white,” she remarked. So with the casting of the 26-year-old, she wanted to transform the beauty standards that people have set.

Chalotra turned out to be the perfect candidate to do that. For Sophie, it was a beautiful experience to see women of color taking powerful roles. Well, this change was not one-sided, but the Wanderlust alum also learned much playing this pivotal character.

How did Yennefer change the British actress? 

Last month, Anya Chalotra spoke to The Big Issue about her role in the famous Netflix show. During the conversation, she was asked about how Yennefer changed her during this huge journey of transformation of the character. In her response, the actress said that it took her long enough to find her passion in life and Yennefer helped her a lot to find the same.

So when she embodied this strong woman for eight months constantly in season 1, she learned much from her. Thus, the Sherwood star would not be the person she has become if not for Yennefer.

What do you think about this new perspective on beauty standards? Drop your comments below!