Aaron Johnson (actor)

Aaron Perry Taylor-Johnson (né Johnson; born 13 June 1990) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in '' Kick-Ass'' (2010) and its 2013 sequel, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character Pietro Maximoff in a cameo appearance in '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014) before having a more prominent role in '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015). Taylor-Johnson began performing at age six and has appeared in such films as ''Shanghai Knights'' (2003), '' The Illusionist'' (2006), ''The Thief Lord'' (2006), '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'' (2008) and '' Bullet Train'' (2022) .

He had his breakthrough performance in the John Lennon biopic ''Nowhere Boy'' (2009). Taylor-Johnson went on to portray Ben in the Oliver Stone-directed crime thriller ''Savages'' (2012), Russian aristocrat Count Vronsky in Joe Wright's adaptation of ''Anna Karenina'' (2012), and Lt. Brody in Gareth Edwards' monster movie ''Godzilla'' (2014).

For his performance as psychopathic drifter Ray Marcus in Tom Ford's thriller ''Nocturnal Animals'' (2016), he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Taylor-Johnson later starred as military commander Ives in Christopher Nolan's spy action epic ''Tenet'' (2020), and assassin Tangerine in David Leitch's thriller '' Bullet Train'' (2022). As part of Sony's Spider-Man Universe he will star as another Marvel character, Kraven the Hunter, in a 2023 self-titled film.

Early life

Aaron Perry Johnson was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, the son of civil engineer Robert Johnson and Sarah, a housewife. He has a sister, Gemma, who appeared in a small role in his 2002 film ''Tom & Thomas''. Johnson is Jewish. He was educated at Holmer Green Senior School, and attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe between 1996 and 2008, where he studied drama, tap, jazz, acrobatics, and singing.

Career

Taylor-Johnson began acting at the age of six. On stage, he appeared in a London production of 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, Taylor-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 thugs. 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, and to do this, Johnson had to learn how to perform the ball trick displayed by his character. He learned how to perform the balancing of the egg on the stick, although that was effected mechanically. Also in 2006, he starred in the film ''The Thief Lord'', as Prosper.

Taylor-Johnson appeared as John Lennon in the 2009 biographical film ''Nowhere Boy'', directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. His performance saw him receive 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, Taylor-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, Taylor-Johnson joined the cast of ''Albert Nobbs'' as a replacement for Orlando Bloom, who dropped out of the production due to his wife's pregnancy. Taylor-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''.

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 May 2019, Taylor-Johnson was cast in Christopher Nolan's ''Tenet''.

In 2022, Taylor-Johnson played one of the leading roles in '' Bullet Train'', an action-thriller film based on the novel ''Mariabītoru'' by Kōtarō Isaka. In March 2021, Taylor-Johnson signed on as a co-star and producer on the biographical drama film ''Rothko'', directed by his wife, Sam Taylor-Johnson. In May 2021, Taylor-Johnson was cast as another Marvel character in ''Kraven the Hunter'', set to be released in January 2023 as part of the Sony's Spider-Man Universe. In October 2022, he joined the cast of ''The Fall Guy'', reuniting him with ''Bullet Train'' director David Leitch.

Personal life

Aaron Johnson began a relationship with director Sam Taylor-Wood, after meeting on the 2009 set of the film ''Nowhere Boy'' when he was 18 and she was 42. They married in the chapel at Babington House, Somerset, England on 21 June 2012. The two subsequently changed their surnames to Taylor-Johnson. The couple have two daughters, and he has two stepdaughters from his wife's previous marriage.

Taylor-Johnson was named one of '' GQ''s 50 best dressed British men in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor-Johnson, Aaron
1990 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
English expatriates in the United States
English male child actors
English male film actors
English male television actors
People from High Wycombe
British people of Jewish descent
English people of Jewish descent