Aaron Taylor-Johnson
As a child actor, he performed in films including Shanghai Knights (2003), The Illusionist (2006), and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008). He had his breakthrough performance as John Lennon in the biopic Nowhere Boy (2009), directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, whom he married in 2012 and adopted the same surname (Taylor-Johnson) with. He followed this with roles in the crime thriller Savages (2012), period drama Anna Karenina (2012), and monster film Godzilla (2014).
For his performance as a psychopathic drifter in the thriller film Nocturnal Animals (2016), Taylor-Johnson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and earned a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He has since appeared in the action films Tenet (2020), Bullet Train (2022) and The Fall Guy (2024).
Early life
Aaron Perry Johnson was born in High Wycombe on 13 June 1990. His father, Robert, was a civil engineer and his mother, Sarah, "stayed at home [and] worked odd jobs here and there so [they] could get by." He has a sister named Gemma, who later had a small role in his film Tom & Thomas (2002). Johnson is Jewish.
He went to Holmer Green Senior School and attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe, studying drama, tap, jazz, acrobatics, and singing. He left school at 15.
Career
Beginnings and rise to fame (1999–2015)
Johnson began acting at the age of six. On stage, he appeared in a London production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, playing the son of Macduff alongside Rufus Sewell, who played Macbeth, in 1999. He appeared in Arthur Miller's All My Sons in 2000. His television roles have included Niker in the 2004 BBC adaptation of the novel Feather Boy, Aaron in Danny Brocklehurst's ITV1 serial Talk to Me, and Owen Stephens in Nearly Famous. In 2003, Johnson appeared as a young Charlie Chaplin in Shanghai Knights alongside Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, with Chaplin depicted as a member of a London gang of street hooligans. That year, he also guest starred in a special live episode of ITV drama The Bill. In 2006, he appeared in The Illusionist, appearing in the early flashback scenes as Edward Norton's character, Eduard Abramovicz, as a teenager. The scenes show the young Eduard as he first learns magic. To do this, Johnson had to learn how to perform the ball trick that his character performs. He learned how to balance the egg on the stick, although that was mechanically effected. Also in 2006, he starred in the film The Thief Lord as Prosper.
Johnson appeared as John Lennon in the 2009 biographical film Nowhere Boy, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, whom he later married. His performance won him the Empire Award for Best Newcomer, and he was also nominated for Young British Performer of the Year by the London Film Critics' Circle. In 2010, Johnson appeared as David "Dave" Lizewski/Kick-Ass, the lead character in Kick-Ass, based on the superhero comic book of the same name by Scottish writer Mark Millar. His performance in Kick-Ass saw him nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. He has also appeared as the central character, William, in Hideo Nakata's Chatroom. In December 2010, Johnson joined the cast of Albert Nobbs as a replacement for Orlando Bloom. Johnson starred in R.E.M.'s 2011 music video "Überlin", which was also directed by his then-fiancée.
In 2012, Taylor-Johnson played Count Vronsky in Anna Karenina. Later that year, he starred as Ben in Oliver Stone's Savages. HitFix film critic Drew McWeeny was positive of the bond between Johnson and co-star Taylor Kitsch, which "seems not only credible but lived in and authentic throughout the film," and noted the evolution in maturity of Johnson since Kick-Ass. Taylor-Johnson starred in the Godzilla reboot, released in May 2014. Taylor-Johnson played Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), the sequel to 2012's The Avengers, as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Taylor-Johnson first appeared as the character in a post-credits scene of the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). The role reunited him with Elizabeth Olsen, who played his wife in Godzilla.
Career progression (2016–present)
In 2016, he played Ray, a menacing Texan, in Tom Ford's thriller Nocturnal Animals. For the role, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. Taylor-Johnson also became first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor winner since Richard Benjamin who did not receive an Academy Award nomination. For the role, he also received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2017, he played an American soldier (alongside John Cena) in Doug Liman's thriller The Wall, and in 2018, he appeared in Outlaw King, a British-American historical action drama about Robert the Bruce and the Wars of Scottish Independence.
In 2020, Taylor-Johnson had a supporting role in Christopher Nolan's film Tenet. In 2022, he appeared in David Leitch's Bullet Train, an action-thriller film based on the novel Mariabītoru by Kōtarō Isaka. He reunited with Leitch in the 2024 action film The Fall Guy. Also in 2024, Taylor-Johnson played another Marvel character in Kraven the Hunter, as part of Sony's Spider-Man Universe. He also featured in Robert Eggers' horror film Nosferatu.
He will next star in 28 Years Later, a sequel to the 2002 film 28 Days Later, which will be directed by Danny Boyle.
Personal life
After Johnson met filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood in 2009 on the set of their film Nowhere Boy, when he was 18 and she was 42. The two began dating and were married in the chapel at Babington House on 21 June 2012. They subsequently changed both their surnames to Taylor-Johnson. They have two daughters, and he is a stepfather to Sam’s two daughters from her previous marriage. Their relationship has been the subject of widespread media discourse regarding alleged grooming, the double standards of gender surrounding sexual abuse, fraternization, and pedophilia.
Taylor-Johnson was named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men in 2015. In a 2019 interview with GQ Australia, he defined his style as elegant and "timeless." Taylor-Johnson lives with his wife and their four daughters on a farm near Bruton, Somerset, and he is an avid vegetable farmer.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Apocalypse | Johanan | |
| 2002 | Tom & Thomas | Tom Sheppard / Thomas | |
| 2003 | Behind Closed Doors | Sam Goodwin | |
| Shanghai Knights | Charlie Chaplin | ||
| 2004 | Dead Cool | George | |
| 2006 | The Thief Lord | Prosper | |
| The Illusionist | Young Eisenheim | ||
| Fast Learners | Neil | Short film | |
| The Best Man | Michael (Aged 15) | ||
| 2007 | The Magic Door | "Flip" | |
| 2008 | Dummy | Danny | |
| Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging | Robbie Jennings | ||
| 2009 | The Greatest | Bennett Brewer | |
| Nowhere Boy | John Lennon | ||
| 2010 | Kick-Ass | Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass | |
| Chatroom | William Collins | ||
| 2011 | Albert Nobbs | Joe Mackins | |
| 2012 | Savages | Ben Leonard | |
| Anna Karenina | Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky | Final credit as Aaron Johnson | |
| 2013 | Kick-Ass 2 | Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass | First credit as Aaron Taylor-Johnson |
| 2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Pietro Maximoff | Uncredited cameo; mid-credits scene |
| Godzilla | Lieutenant Ford Brody | ||
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Pietro Maximoff | |
| 2016 | Nocturnal Animals | Ray Marcus | |
| 2017 | The Wall | Sergeant Allen "Ize" Isaac | |
| 2018 | Outlaw King | James Douglas, Lord of Douglas | |
| A Million Little Pieces | James Frey | Also writer and producer | |
| 2020 | Tenet | Ives | |
| 2021 | The King's Man | Archie Reid | |
| 2022 | Bullet Train | Tangerine | |
| 2024 | The Fall Guy | Tom Ryder | |
| Nosferatu | Friedrich Harding | ||
| Kraven the Hunter | Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter | ||
| 2025 | 28 Years Later † | Jamie | Post-production |
| 2026 | 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple † | Filming | |
| TBA | Fuze † | TBA | Post-production |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Armadillo | Young Lorimer Black | |
| 2003 | The Bill | Zac Clough | Episode: "162" |
| 2004 | Family Business | Paul Sullivan | 1 episode |
| Feather Boy | Niker | 3 episodes | |
| 2006 | I Shouldn't Be Alive | Mark | 4 episodes |
| Casualty | Joey Byrne | Episode: "Silent Ties" | |
| 2007 | Talk to Me | Aaron | 4 episodes |
| Coming Up | Eoin | Episode: "99,100" | |
| Nearly Famous | Owen Stephens | 6 episodes | |
| Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars | Finch | Television film | |
| 2021 | Calls | Mark (voice) | Episode: "The Beginning" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Kick-Ass: The Game | Kick-Ass |
Awards and nominations
References
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'I went into the audition looking like a nerd. My hair was really crazy, curly and wacky. Then they got me to meet Matthew. At the end, when I finally admitted I was English, he said. "Nah, your accent's not that good." I was like, "Dude. I'm from High Wycombe."'
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External links
