Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (born June 13, 1990, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England) is an English actor known for his versatility and deep commitment to his work. He first gained widespread attention with the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy (2009) and then found success in many other films, including the action hits Kick-Ass (2010) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and the psychological thriller Nocturnal Animals (2016).

Early life

He was born Aaron Perry Johnson, the son of a homemaker mother and civil engineer father. His parents divorced when he was six, and it was about this time that he began acting. In 1999 he appeared in a production of Macbeth at London’s National Theatre, and three years later he made his movie debut, playing twins in Tom & Thomas. In 2003 Johnson portrayed Charlie Chaplin as a child in Shanghai Knights, which starred Jackie Chan.

As Johnson entered his teen years, his life started to spiral out of control. He began drinking at an early age and was hitting the London club scene by the time he was 15. In a 2014 Standard interview, Johnson said he spent a lot of money “and had two years that I cannot even remember.…I was having a bit of trouble, transitioning, understanding why I was so…the one that was so…successful maybe.”

Nowhere Boy and Kick-Ass

Johnson managed to overcome his difficulties and would amass an impressive résumé, notably roles in The Illusionist (2006), a period drama starring Edward Norton, and the teen TV series Nearly Famous (2007). He also received strong reviews for the teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008). His major breakthrough, however, was Nowhere Boy (2009), a film about a challenging period in John Lennon’s childhood. Johnson said he could relate to the young Lennon’s story, and his nuanced performance earned him the Empire Award for best newcomer. Nowhere Boy was directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, and the two began dating and later married. They took each other’s surname: Taylor-Johnson.

More prominent films followed. In 2010 Aaron Taylor-Johnson appeared in the popular action movie Kick-Ass, in which he played a nerdy teenager who longs to be a superhero. The following year he starred with Glenn Close in the Oscar-nominated Albert Nobbs, about a woman who lives as a man in 19th-century Dublin. In Oliver Stone’s Savages (2012), Taylor-Johnson played a stoner who grows marijuana and gets caught in a drug war. Also in 2012 he portrayed Count Vronsky in Anna Karenina, an adaptation of the 19th-century novel by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy; Taylor-Johnson’s costars were Keira Knightley and Jude Law.

Avengers: Age of Ultron, Nocturnal Animals, and Bullet Train

After Kick-Ass 2 (2013) Taylor-Johnson was cast in another action drama, Godzilla (2014). He then took on the role of superhero Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver in two blockbusters, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014; uncredited) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). His unsettling performance as a serial killer in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals (2016) earned him a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actor. In 2020 Taylor-Johnson played a military leader in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, a time-bending action thriller. He later costarred with Brad Pitt in Bullet Train (2022), about a group of assassins on a train.

Taylor-Johnson remained busy and in 2024 appeared in The Fall Guy, an action comedy about a stuntman (played by Ryan Gosling) who finds himself in a number of difficult situations, and the superhero movie Kraven the Hunter, in which he played the title character. That year Taylor-Johnson also had a supporting role in Nosferatu, a remake of the 1922 horror film based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

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Personal life

His marriage to Sam Taylor-Wood attracted much media attention. When they met in 2008, he was 18 and she was 23 years his senior. A year after meeting, Johnson proposed, and the couple married in 2012. The couple have two daughters together. In addition, Aaron Taylor-Johnson became stepfather to Sam Taylor-Johnson’s two daughters from a previous marriage.