Aaron Taylor-Johnson offered a rare glimpse into his experience of being a father — a role that takes precedence over those he plays in movies.
“I was going to have a big family. I knew I was going to be a young father. I knew I was going to have many kids,” Taylor-Johnson, 33, told Esquire in a June interview published Monday, August 14, noting that he was 10 or 11 when he first started thinking about his future family.
The actor shares daughters Wylda Rae, 13, and Romy Hero, 11, with wife Sam Taylor-Johnson. He also coparents Sam’s daughters Angelica, 26, and Jessie, 16, whom she had with ex-husband Jay Jopling.
“Teenagers, man. I’ve got teenagers,” Aaron added while reflecting on his big brood. During the interview, the Marvel star broke down how fatherhood influenced his decision to take a break from acting.
“I wanted, purely, to be with my babies,” Aaron said. “I didn’t want to be taken away from them. I battled with what that would be like. I would say I was probably not ready to be in that position [of success] anyway — it was too early. But yeah, I also slightly didn’t give a f—k.”
He continued: “In my opinion, the actor that goes job to job becomes f—king boring. You know that someone’s going to pick you up, take you to work, do your makeup, tell you, ‘Here’s your mark. These are your lines. You’re f—king great!’ And on to the next job. F—k off. I’m sure people dream of that. If this is what you want to do, that’s great. It doesn’t feed my soul. I enjoy the normality of things, the everyday stuff. Getting my kids ready in the mornings, taking them to school and activities — that’s plenty. That feeds my soul.”
Aaron and Sam, 56, started dating after he auditioned for her directorial debut, Nowhere Boy, in 2008. The couple announced they were engaged one year later, and got married in 2012 — which is when they each changed their last name to Taylor-Johnson.
Over the years, the pair have clapped back against criticism of their 20-year age gap.
“I literally found my soulmate. I feel so blessed: every day I wake up happy. We spend every minute of the day together,” Sam told The Sunday Times UK in 2017. “My friends call him Benjamin Button because he has — on the outside — such youth, and on the inside, he is so wise and settled. He doesn’t like parties. He likes being at home and cooking for the family. He likes walking the dogs. He loves his chickens — he collects the eggs and makes breakfast for everyone. He is an amazing man.”
The director later discussed her hope that instead of simply being judged for their age difference, she hoped that they can be an inspiration for other couples in their situation.
“We’ve been together for over a decade now,” she told The Daily Beast in 2019. “It doesn’t worry me, and it’s not something that is difficult to talk about because it’s such a positive story, that we’re a decade later together and working together and raising a strong family together. That may be a positive message for people out there.”
Aaron opened up to Esquire about his attempts to remain more tight-lipped when it comes to his personal life.
“I’m trying to be as honest as possible,” he told the outlet. “I’ve probably talked to you more about my kids and Sam than I have with anybody. I’ve got really nothing to hide, and I’m secure in what we have. But I’m not going to unlock things that are actually precious to me.”
