Aaron Taylor-Johnson is promoting Godzilla which comes out this Friday. The reviews of this reboot are so much better than for the 1998 version, so I’m pumped. Aaron sat down for an interview with The Standard to cover some familar ground about his wife, Sam. Many people know Aaron is 23, and she’s 47. They hooked up when he was 17 or 18, and now they’re married with two young children (plus two from Sam’s previous relationship). She was his director on Nowhere Boy, and they’ve been inseparable since. Aaron genuinely adores and respects his wife, and I do hope they stay together for the long run.

Aaron’s been pretty defensive about his marriage before. He’s said that if people think it’s hard, they “must be in a sh-t marriage.” I don’t think that’s even his age speaking. That’s his inexperience in marriage talking. I’ll be interested in how much he learns about marriage in the next decade. (The seven-year itch is very real for many people.) Aaron has said that age doesn’t matter at all. He’s also talked about why he took Sam’s name. Here is more elaboration:

He’s a bit neurotic: “I get really nervous doing interviews. I find it really difficult to express myself in words. I’m much better doing that in a physical way,’ he stutters, squirming a little. ‘It’s a difficult line to tread, being open and honest, but keeping some things private. But then there’s a lot of sh-t that people know already…”

His move to blockbusters: “Now it’s funny, I sit back and watch the young, ambitious actors do that ‘F— commercial films, I’m going to be an indie actor’ thing. The problem with independent films is that they can be hit or miss. I’ve seen scripts that have blown me away. But there have to be all the right ingredients in place to make them work: the director, cast, publicity, distribution. In the end, there is only a small chance that the script will turn into a great film, get into a festival and hit cinemas. The majority of them, nobody ever sees. If you’re doing the indie thing, you can really burn yourself out as an actor going from film to film.”

He’ll only do one film per year now: “I have to be fully committed to do a project nowadays, because if I say yes to something, it means the whole family are going to have to move for the job. It’s a lot of upheaval. So, it has to be really worth it. Otherwise, I’d just as well not bother. We had to set up the kids in pre-schools [in Vancouver], their martial arts classes, gymnastics, swimming lessons, home tutoring for some of the older ones… We sort of live like gypsies. You adapt, you find a home and then you ground it.”

On Britain vs LA: “I love Britain for being so grounded. But it’s too miserable. There’s that British mentality to attack LA: ‘Oh, those f—ers just moved to Hollywood. F—ing pr-cks.’ I know that because I used to be one of those people. I used to come to LA and think, ‘I’m never f—ing living here.’ I couldn’t stand the place. But that’s because I was young, I only had myself to look after. Now I have a family, I see the outdoorsy lifestyle that this city can offer my kids. So if we do two years in London, or a year here… The way I see it is that as long as we are all together, wherever we are, that’s home.”

His teenage rebellion: “Yeah. I had a self-destructive moment. Luckily, it all went under the radar. I started drinking really early. I grew up in a remote little village, what else are you going to do? By the time I was 15, I was going to clubs in London. Then I just went a bit f—ing mad. I blew a sh-tload of money, and had two years that I cannot even remember… I was f—ing up all my work and my life. It was a sh-tty, dark moment. I was having a bit of trouble, transitioning, understanding why I was so… the one that was so… successful maybe. It was just before Nowhere Boy. I mean, you have to get everything off your chest before you can move on, right? Because if I didn’t do that then, I’d be breaking down now. I wouldn’t be able to raise a family, or be in control, or feel responsible enough to do what I do.”

He’s surrounded by estrogen: “I was raised by women. Now I’m raising women. I was always better around girls. I live in an all-female household. I even have two female dogs… It’s funny how that turned ou. My girls have the best woman to look up to. She’s the strongest woman I know.” Taylor-Wood has survived two bouts of cancer. “As role models go, she’s the best. She’s so inspiring and smart. My girls are all going to be strong women, too.”

Taking Sam’s name: “I’m not the kind of male who has to put my imprint on everything. That d-ckhead kind of thing…” he says, suddenly passionate. “It didn’t feel right to me that the woman has to take the man’s name. We wanted to give our family unity. I wanted to embrace her name. I’d rather wear her name on everything than mine.”

He wants to do a method, transformative role: “It would be really challenging with the family. I need to wait a few years until the little ones are in full-time school. There’s a part of me that just wants to give it up for a while. I see everyone else trying to race their way through. But I don’t need to hurry any more. I’ve achieved some bigger things in life. hings that are more meaningful to me.”

[From The Standard]

The way Aaron talks about his teenage years, it’s almost as if a switch flipped at age 19 when he met Sam. That’s when he instantly decided to get his sh-t together, and he’s been a family man ever since. It feels strange that he could completely rid himself of his drinking, clubbing, and oat-sowing in an instant. I guess when you meet “the one,” everything else ceases to matter.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN