Aaron Taylor-Johnson Talks ‘The Fall Guy’, Marvel, & Armani Acqua di Giò

With a handful of diverse films releasing this year, the role of “Armani ambassador” freshly added to his resume, and rumours that he may be the next actor to embody James Bond, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s career has transformed — in a relatively short space of time — into the industry’s most daring juggling act. But, as SHARP meets with the Brit, less than a day after he’s touched down in Madrid, Spain (for the launch of Armani’s reimagined Acqua di Giò fragrance), it becomes clear that this trajectory isn’t part of some carefully crafted or grand career plan. Rather, for the notoriously private family man, each of these incredible opportunities is a product of his own creative, exploratory nature.

“I think there are a lot of parallels to the campaign itself,” Taylor-Johnson explains, in reference to Armani’s cinematic new fragrance ad. The monochromatic film, which the actor painstakingly trained to get in shape for, was shot along a jagged clifftop coastline overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. “It’s about a man in search of a new experience,” he says. “He wants to evoke a change and a new chapter. But he doesn’t know what that is. I resonated with that — feeling renewed by a sense of unfamiliarity. That drives me.”

Undeniably handsome, but also armed with a quiet, humble charisma, Taylor-Johnson would have found it all too easy to leverage his movie-star looks and talent into a career as a successful romantic lead. Instead, the actor decided to eagerly return — again and again — to his own professional, proverbial clifftop, and has taken leaps of faith into different genres and boundary-pushing projects.

Of course, nothing great is produced without seizing such opportunities — particularly when it comes to the creative industry. Flexing the same artistic muscles over and over again will yield nothing but atrophy, and never gives undiscovered or underused abilities the chance to develop. Of course, diverting from one’s familiar craft can be a risk (for every beloved Beyoncé country album, there’s an ill-fated Madonna movie career), but it’s the willingness to try that’s to be celebrated.

In Armani’s Acqua di Giò campaign film, the climax sees Taylor-Johnson reaching the edge of the cliff, and pausing for a brief moment to look out at the horizon before throwing himself down toward the waters below. “It’s that leap of faith that I really connected with,” says the 34-year-old. It was the Golden Globe–winning actor himself who suggested the dramatic dive — presumably to the apprehension of Armani’s insurance team.

“It’s something I would do anyways,” he laughs. “I’ve always been pretty adventurous, so I was fine just jumping off the cliff. But I wanted something a bit more poetic. I thought we could take it a bit further. So I pitched: ‘What if I were to swan dive off the cliff?’ And I’m glad they went for it. I just really wanted to embody this Acqua di Giò man — the man who is willing to dive into the unknown, and who is going to make bold choices.”

There are parallels to be drawn between the dynamic image and Taylor-Johnson’s forthcoming year. Most recently, he’s appeared alongside Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in the summer blockbuster, The Fall Guy. Directed by David Leitch (who also welcomed the actor aboard 2022’s Bullet Train), the Armani ambassador plays a haughty action star whose superficiality stands in stark contrast to the actor’s own manner.

In reality, Taylor-Johnson is as subdued and private as his family life — he lives on a remote farm in the English county of Somerset with his wife, artist and director Sam Taylor-Johnson, and their two children. But his career is anything but tranquil. This year, the actor will return to the Marvel fold for the first time since he appeared in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. In his titular role in Kraven the Hunter, Taylor-Johnson will be tasked with both turning a Spider-Man rogue into a compelling protagonist, and with reigniting moviegoers’ dwindling obsession with the superhero genre.

He’ll also be seen in both Nosferatu, a reimagining of the seminal horror tale from the perspective of auteur director Robert Eggers, and Rothko, a film directed by his wife that explores the legal battle that surrounded the late painter’s estate.

“All of these things are aligning,” says Taylor-Johnson, “which feels like an odd thing to say because it’s such a range of projects. But I think about manifestation a lot and, when I think about a campaign like this one, it just feels like it’s on the frequency of diving into what I think are great challenges. To work with a director like Robert [Eggers], to represent a brand like Armani, to return to [Marvel], they’re opportunities that I genuinely don’t take lightly.

“With everything great, you put yourself in places of fear,” the actor adds. “You put yourself in an uncomfortable position when you’re on the edge of something new. I think that’s what makes this campaign so aspirational. And we talked about that a lot on set, the moment just before the jump. You’re on the edge of the cliff. Do you take that plunge?”

Mere days after we meet, the Armani ambassador was touted to play James Bond in a swirl of reports and rumours. Tabloids said he’d been offered the part — a mantle that historically attracts unrivalled fame and criticism. For a man who’s constructed a quiet life in the countryside, a haven far from the Hollywood hubbub, becoming 007 would place Taylor-Johnson on a startlingly high clifftop. As for whether or not he’d take on the role remains to be seen. All he can say for now is that he’s open to whatever possibilities may come.

“To explore new roles, to partner with Armani, to experience these milestones and moments in time, I feel so much gratitude for that,” says the actor. “I think, for me, it’s that balance between staying grounded, being grateful, and remaining open to what might happen if I take the next leap.”

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