Aaron Taylor Johnson, 24: ‘People who know me call me Benjamin Button’

FFN_KM_Avengers_Prem_041315_51710394

Here are some more photos of Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson at the LA premiere of The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Sam and Aaron always attend the other’s premieres – Aaron was on board the whole time Sam was shilling Fifty Shades of Grey, and now Sam is Aaron’s road-dog while he shills Ultron (Aaron plays Quicksilver). As per usual these days, Aaron is getting questions about his marriage and the age difference between him and Sam. They’ve been getting those questions for the past six years, ever since they got together. Currently, Aaron is 24 (he’ll be 25 in June) and Sam is 48. They got together when he was 18 and she was 42. And to hear Aaron tell it (consistently), he knew Sam was “the one” right away, that his 18-year-old self knew he needed to lock it down with marriage and babies. Some highlights from Aaron’s interview with The Times this weekend:

On the age difference: “I don’t notice it now – we just instinctively gel … People who know me call me Benjamin Button – they think I’m an old soul and she’s a young soul.”

Marrying Sam when he was 20 and she was 44: It made “perfect sense…I knew I wanted to be with her. I wanted kids, we had kids and I was really into that, taking time off and involving myself in the bubble of her pregnancy.”

Life before Sam: He describes himself as a “self-destructive teenager struggling with success.”

They have a rule, only one project a year: “Being a father has been the happiest time of my life – it’s what I live for, what I love doing – I have a real reason why I’m here, I’m not as proud of my acting; it’s a job that I do … I’m grateful, but I don’t live for acting.”

[From The Times via The Daily Mail]

I don’t understand the Benjamin Button reference? I think it would work better in Sam’s case, right? Because Aaron is aging in the traditional sense, and Sam just seems to have “met in the middle” and may even be reversing the aging process because she’s married to a young piece. Benjamin Button was born an old man and he got progressively “younger” so…why is Aaron being called Benjamin Button?

In a recent Marie Claire interview, Aaron also described how happy he is to be surrounded by women throughout his life. He was raised by his mother and his sister, he’s married to Sam and they have two biological daughters together, plus Sam’s two daughters from her previous marriage. And Aaron has a female agent. Aaron told Marie Claire: “I’ve always been better around females. It’s funny that life has given me girls, but now I can raise strong women. And they’ve got such a great role model in their mum. My household’s kind of great.” Eh, some men are just like that. It’s sweet. I guess?

FFN_KM_Avengers_Prem_041315_51710400

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

37 Responses to “Aaron Taylor Johnson, 24: ‘People who know me call me Benjamin Button’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Norman Bates' Mother says:

    Benjamin Button at the age of 75 looked like a college student, even though he had all the experience of an old men. Aaron thinks he is just like that – young looking with a soul of an older man.

    I think he talks about it too much like he tries to not only convince the world but also himself that what he’s saying is true.

    • Esmom says:

      “I think he talks about it too much like he tries to not only convince the world but also himself that what he’s saying is true.”

      This is exactly what I was thinking, too. Like if he says it enough and in slightly different ways he will convince us, and himself.

    • Abby says:

      I think he talks about it too much because he’s asked about it too much. Like every female celeb and their weight or babies.

      That said, it’s a strange situation to me. But they seem happy.

  2. jinni says:

    OMG. We get it. You and your jailbait chasing wife are totally in love and there is nothing creepy about your relationship and she “saved” you from the empty existence you were leading before she molded you into her perfect Pygmalion. Okay. Does he have anything else to say? Or is he going to go on and on justifying his relationship in every interview for the rest of his career? Maybe the age difference is the only “interesting” thing about him.

    • Allie says:

      Bahaha +1.

    • Sixer says:

      Perhaps it’s the only thing he ever gets asked? Or, if he does get asked something else, it’s the only question whose answer gets repeated and reported?

      I’m inclined to agree that a larger proportion of May-December relationships have unhealthy power balances than those with comparable ages. But that doesn’t mean they all do.

      No idea about these two, and don’t much care. But if I were Aaron Taylor-Johnson, my response to being asked this question for the zillionth time would be “ASKED AND ANSWERED”.

      • Erinn says:

        Meh -I can only agree to that so much – because we KNOW that they can put down ‘don’t asks’ or whatever in interviews.

    • OSTONE says:

      +2

    • CM says:

      LOVE your comment… but I think their relationship may really be the only interesting thing about him, especially for an interviewer looking to create headlines. I would imagine it’s practically the only thing he’s asked about….

      Then again, he could always stop giving interviews. Give us a break.

    • jeebus says:

      I imagine a lot of it has to do with the fact that he’s just answering what the interviewer is asking him, not that he is giving this info on his own.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Agree, jinni. His “empty existence” at age 18. Yuck.

    • A.Key says:

      You nailed it.

  3. Amelia says:

    I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I’m really fond of these two.
    They’re happy, their kids are happy, which is all that matters, I think.
    As Keats said, More happy, happy love!

    • anna2222222 says:

      I kind of agree. They seem happy, they seem to love each other, they’ve created a happy, stable home for their children. Maybe it won’t last forever but neither do most celebrity couples. It’s not a perfect situation but it’s a lot better than di caprio using models half his age and then throwing them away when they hit 25.

    • klein says:

      They seem fine to me too.

      He was 18 when they met – it’s not illegal in the UK for this relationship to have developed the way it did. And I’m surprised she was that old actually, she seems younger in herself so they may very well match in personality.

      And I think the Benjamin Button reference is being overthought far too much here – it sounds like a throwaway remark a friend made and which he quite liked.

      • MrsBPitt says:

        No, I believe he was only 17 when they met filming Nowhere Boy…I think it is disturbing….Him saying he was a troubled “teen” and this 42 year old woman “saved” him. If he was a 17 year old student or even an 18 year old high school kid and a 42 year old teacher was caught having a “relationship” with him…she would be ath the least fired, maybe in jail. If my 17 or 18 year old son brought home a 42 year old woman, with two kids, and told my he was marrying her…I WOULD FLIP OUT!!!!!

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        If my 18 year old son was marrying anybody, I would flip out. I mean, it would be worse if it was a 42 year old woman, but I just think 18 is too young to get married, and a 42 year old woman should know that. So selfish.

    • The Other Pinky says:

      I like them too. They’ve shaken people’s perceptions of what relationships should look like and I guess they will pay for that for the rest of their married lives. For me, if no laws were broken and people are genuinely happy, who am I to begrudge them?

    • Cate says:

      Me too. And the way he talks about women is wonderful. You bet I think it’s sweet. If only more men were genuinely loved women in general we’d have far less problems…

  4. Lola says:

    The first time I heard that “old soul” excuse was about 8 years ago with some vampire story plot in which it was okay for the main character (an7 year old girl) to engage in a relationship with an adult because ‘she wasn’t really a child, you know?’.
    I’ve only seen it increase and it bothers me that people want to use phantasy to justify certain actions that are often not only illegal but kind of sick.
    I heard this guy was like 16 when she met him.

  5. INeedANap says:

    More than their age difference, it squicks me out that she was his boss when they met. That is some serious power imbalance right there.

    But they’ve been together this long, so maybe it really is a healthy relationship. I don’t know y’all, I’m conflicted.

    • Greyson says:

      One changes so much from 17 to 30. Time will tell if he feels differently and regrets skipping over his youth.

      • Esmom says:

        So true. If my kids seriously consider marriage and having family at age 20, even with a partner near their age, I’ll be worried. Too much living yet to do before settling down, imo.

  6. Greyson says:

    To each their own. Not the first time this happened in Hollywood.

    Young guy, lost with early success in movies in his teens latched onto/married an older woman in her 40’s. Both adamant at the time it was meant to be.. Spoiler Alert: it didn’t last with Patrick Dempsey who married his manager Rocky in the 80’s. They didn’t have any kids together. Years later he remarried someone his own age and had a family with her.

    Can’t say if the Taylor Johnsons will have a happy ending, but having/raising kids makes a clean break impossible. They’re old enough to make the decisions they have and if things stop being so wonderful, I think these two will co-parent just fine.

  7. Jenn K says:

    On top of her being older shes not a youthful “looking” 40- something. She looks much older than 40s.

  8. Suzy from Ontario says:

    The Benjamin Button reference is kind of tangled, but I think he might be trying to just say he’s an old soul in a young man’s body.

    While I would not be happy with either of my sons marrying a woman who was 44 when they were 20, I will admit that at least compared to most May-Dec romances, their’s feels real. They don’t have the dynamic of one being a Sugar-Mommy/Daddy that so many have where you have some old man who’s rich and/or powerful with some 20-something blond with enhanced breasts and not much else, who everyone knows is in it for the money …not that I’m thinking of anyone in particular …cough*Hugh Hefner*cough

  9. Amy says:

    The more he speaks the younger he sounds, “I’m like…so mature. I mean I’m honestly the most grown up grown up at my age? It’s crazy. I just…you know that Daddy and Husband life man.”

  10. Suzy from Ontario says:

    It does make me wonder, though, about his Mom and sister who “raised him”… because I think connecting to an much older woman like that is fulfilling some kind of need inside that wasn’t being met. He alludes to being a troubled teen, so I think things might not have been the greatest at home, and he doesn’t say much about his childhood years. He might have been looking for a stability and home life that he wanted, but wasn’t getting and felt a connection to her and that he could create it with her.

    Not sure how it will be as she ages, but they do seem very committed to each other and the relationship. Maybe having to fight against public disapproval has made them srronger and more sure. Who knows? Wouldn’t want it for my sons, but as long as it’s a healthy relationship in terms of everyday stuff/interaction, and they do seem to encourage each other’s growth, etc., then good for him. Maybe without that in his life, he’d be self-medicating whatever needs he had that drove him to seek out something like this.

    Plus, sometimes people, regardless of age, do just click and age becomes meaningless. It’s rare, but it happens. I’ve felt that myself.

  11. FingerBinger says:

    I like what he says about raising strong women. As for his marriage he needs to stop trying to justify It.

    • VirgiliaCoriolanus says:

      That’s what makes me think something is off. For what it’s worth, I think they truly are in love. But I think it also has the potential to end badly……but we’ll see. Because Aaron is constantly trying to justify his marriage/wife. Just don’t talk about it (or how you’re an old soul)……

  12. Coco says:

    They seem sweet and really into each other, sometimes people just connect irrespective of age or status. Love is love.

  13. moomoo says:

    Wow, so she had kids after age 44? It seems she is really lucky she was able to get and stay pregnant as I’ve read female fertility begins to decline at around age 28. I’m several years younger and don’t have kids yet but have accepted that it may not happen even if we start trying soon.

  14. Jess says:

    I’m sorry. 18 and 42 is just gross. It would be if the genders were reversed, as well. We all know guys are dogs and will hit it with cougars whenever possible, but shame on her, he was basically a child. He’ll wake up eventually.

  15. Solace says:

    +1
    As someone once said “sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct one”
    Imho…seems to be the case here….even if this was true love…why wouldn’t you give your partner the chance to see the world for himself before coming to a decision….about marriage, babies, or whathaveyous.