Englishman Aaron Taylor-Johnson was as shocked as anyone when he managed to take home a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for Nocturnal Animals. The 26-year old beat out strong competition in the form of Dev Patel, Jeff Bridges, Simon Helberg and Mahershala Ali. But that was more than enough recognition according to the man himself.
The sudden critical stardom appeared to take Taylor-Johnson by genuine surprise. Having played either bit part roles or the lead in action movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Godzilla and Kick-Ass. Walking up to the podium as he shook his head in disbelief, the actor felt sheepish over the whole affair.
Self Doubt A Common Thread In ATJs Conscious
Talking to Vulture, Taylor-Johnson explains that the endless cycle of interviews and duties after production wore him down mentally.
“Coming home from the Globes with an award was brilliant, but I’ve been promoting Nocturnal (Animals) for six months,” he says. “As an actor, you prefer to put that kind of energy into something creative. It was good to finally step off the train. You do kind of go, I’m losing my mind.”
With more offers coming across his desk by the week, the England native thinks his peers are better suited to what he has been earmarked for.
“Whenever I read a script,” remarks Taylor-Johnson, “I start recasting the role that I might play. I’m like, ‘God, this should be played by Domhnall Gleeson, not me.’ I was reading something recently and thought Mark Rylance should be in it instead of me. Then someone was like, ‘The part is a bit younger than Mark Rylance.’ ”
Never Consider Me An A-List Star: Taylor-Johnson
Having an early start to life in the spotlight as a child for productions like The Apocalypse and 2002's Tom & Thomas, Taylor-Johnson argues that the media attention is simply not his cup of tea.
“The attention was intrusive,” he says. “But having to deal with that early in my career probably got me to a place where I can more quickly just go, ‘Oh, f*** it’ instead of wanting to rip someone’s head off for asking questions I don’t like.” Still, “I’ll never be Jennifer Lawrence or Tom Cruise, someone who can hold a movie and then be charming and charismatic doing promotion. I haven’t got what they’ve got. But at least I’m now comfortable just being myself.”
Although his nature is to back away from fame at every opportunity, he knows that in order to have a successful career he must push forward with more projects.
"But there’s definitely a feeling of ‘Strike when the iron’s hot,’" he admits. "I know it’ll blow over eventually, but there’s been more meeting people from studios. It’s an interesting position to be in where you’re suddenly getting considered for projects.... I want to work with great directors. I’ve picked films based on the script or the character and seen them collapse because the directors were not strong visionaries.”
Source: Vulture
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