AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON
“HERE’S HOW I SEE IT: THE ONES THAT YOU WANT ARE THE ONES THAT ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR… THEY DON’T JUST LAND IN YOUR LAP”
The last time Total Film met Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the actor was caked in mud and blood in a field outside of Glasgow. The set was for the “relentless” Outlaw King, David Mackenzie’s historical drama that saw Taylor-Johnson roar across the screen as Sir James Douglas, ally to Scottish freedom fighter Robert the Bruce. Today, Taylor-Johnson is less gunk-splattered but still dreaming of Scotland. “In a couple of weeks, I’m going to go back to the Highlands,” he sighs. “I miss it.”
Before he can plan his holidays, though, he’s got the little matter of A Million Little Pieces to contend with. Based on James Frey’s controversial memoir (he admitted it was part-fabricated), Taylor-Johnson plays Frey in what is a harrowing look at addiction, rehab and sobriety. While Frey’s journey is anything but easy to watch, for Taylor-Johnson it’s been a “beautiful joy”, co-scripting and producing with the film’s director, his own spouse, Sam Taylor-Johnson.
While they’ve been together for the past decade – and had two daughters – the Taylor-Johnsons haven’t worked on a movie project since 2009’s John Lennon bio Nowhere Boy. By that point, Johnson – as he was then, before they coupled up – had already spent over a decade in showbiz. Born in High Wycombe, the son of a civil engineer, early small roles included Shanghai Knights (as the young Charlie Chaplin) and The Illusionist (as, er, the young Edward Norton).
A brief flirtation with teen heartthrob status in 2008’s Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging notwithstanding, Taylor-Johnson’s breakthrough as the Beatles’ Lennon was huge. Aside from introducing him to his future wife, artist Sam Taylor-Wood – as she was known then – it also set him up as an actor of serious intent. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he also had Kick-Ass in his back pocket, playing the green-costumed wannabe at the heart of Matthew Vaughn’s boot to the bollocks of the superhero genre.
Since then, Taylor-Johnson has managed his career expertly: blockbusters such as Gareth Edwards’ and (he was Quicksilver) have nestled neatly alongside edgy fare such as Doug Liman’s war-time drama and Tom, which won Taylor-Johnson a Golden Globe and a Bafta nomination for his turn as Ray Marcus, the sadistic Texas gang leader who tears Jake Gyllenhaal’s writer’s life apart.
