‘Kraven’ Star Aaron Taylor-Johnson Was Saved by His Wife
Aaron Taylor-Johnson has had quite a successful career. The 31-year-old actor has shown an impressive range that has awarded him praise and success in the entertainment industry. Despite his accolades, however, there was a time when Johnson was spiraling down a self-destructive path. But fortunately for the Kick-Ass actor, the love of his life managed to save the future Kraven star from sabotaging himself.
How Aaron Taylor-Johnson left his mark on Hollywood
As with most actors, the acting bug got a hold of Johnson at a young age. He started out in plays at the age of six before quickly making the leap to film and television. He got himself roles in TV films before starring in Nowhere Boy and Kick-Ass shot him to international stardom. Johnson continues to prove himself as a versatile actor with roles like the Ray in Nocturnal Animals, where he played an unhinged psychopath. Still, the superhero genre has been kind to him even after Kick-Ass. In 2015 he played the role of Quicksilver in Avengers Age of Ultron, and in 2023 he’ll be dipping into the Marvel Universe again as Spiderman’s nemesis, Kraven.
But as is the case with some child actors, there was a period where Johnson felt like he indulged in a destructive lifestyle. Until, however, he met the love of his life in film director Sam Taylor.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s wife stopped him from self-destruction
According to E-News, Aaron Taylor-Johnson gave a candid interview to Nylonguys magazine about the lifestyle he lived before meeting his future wife.
“I was pretty self-destructive at one point,” Johnson said. “I used to smoke 30 [cigarettes] a day, used to f**** drink non-stop. I’ve always been able to be on the f**** edge-be on the line, but then pull myself back.”
Johnson would bring his wild antics into auditions for programs like Nickelodeon, where he would pretend to be American to grab the part he was after.
“It was kind of like learning how to pull,” he said of his past. “It was like, how do you get into a bar and point out the fittest girl and then just go, ‘I’ll have her by the end of the night?’ I was at that age where that was kind of…I stopped when I met Sam.”
Who is Sam Taylor-Johnson?
Sam Taylor-Johnson is a film director and producer. She might be most known for adapting the best-selling novel, Fifty-Shades of Grey, although she didn’t direct the sequels. The filmmaker met Johnson on the set of Nowhere Boy, a film that she was directing. She was 41-years old and coming off of a divorce, while Johnson was 18-years old at the time of filming. Johnson recalls in detail the exact moment he crossed paths with the director.
“I remember it very, very clearly. I know exactly what she was wearing,” Johnson said in an interview with Harpers Bazaar. “This white shirt that she still has, that I love. It definitely changed my life, though not in the way I expected.”
Although Sam-Taylor asserts that they kept it professional, she’s positive the cast & crew felt something brewing between them.
“But everyone on set knew,” Sam-Taylor said. “And as soon as we finished, he told me he was going to marry me. We had never been on a date, or even kissed.”
Johnson kept his promise and proposed to Sam-Taylor a year after they first met.
Age is just a number for Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Sam Taylor-Johnson
The two have made headlines a few times in their relationship due to their age difference. Sam Taylor and Johnson have faced much criticism because of the generational gap between them. But the director and her husband don’t let the publicity get in the way of their marriage.
“If I gave a second thought to other people, I would be the unhappiest person, probably still in a miserable marriage,” Sam Taylor said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “People like to talk about it. I’m like, ‘Yeah, but it works better than my last marriage.’ It’s lasted longer than a lot of my friends’ marriages.”
The couple has been together for over a decade now and they’re still going strong. They share three kids together, with one being from Sam-Taylor’s previous marriage.
