Anya Taylor-Joy gamed in preparation for The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Anya Taylor-Joy played Mario computer games to "research" for 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'.

The 26-year-old actress voices Princess Peach in the animated movie based on the much-loved Nintendo franchise and confessed to spending a lot of time on her console to prepare for the part.

Asked by Digital Spy if she played Mario before filming, Anya said: "1,000 per cent. I was like, 'Please don't call me. It's a Sunday, and I have to go do research – gaming.'

"It was a wonderful excuse. I don't think I'm allowed to use it again for a while, but I definitely took advantage of it."

Chris Pratt voices Mario in the film and confessed that he had been unwittingly preparing for the role since he was a child.

The 43-year-old star said: "Well, without knowing it, yes. I've been preparing for this my whole life... I've been playing Mario since I was nine years old. And, yeah, who knew?

"All those years, my parents said, 'Aren't you going to do something that could help you get a job one day?' I'm like, 'Hey, guess what? I'm doing it. This is research.'"

Meanwhile, Anya revealed that her 'Split' co-star James McAvoy would be a great fit in the world of 'Super Mario'.

'The Queen's Gambit' star said: "I think James McAvoy would smash it. I don’t know who he'd be, but he's so good, and he's so talented, and he's really good at voices. So, I think that he would smash 'Mario Bros'."

The full interviews with Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Pratt and Charlie Day can be read on the Digital Spy website via https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a43438032/super-mario-bros-chris-pratt-charlie-day/