Aaron Taylor-Johnson might be best known for his roles in films such as Kick Ass, Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, and Avengers: Age Of Ultron, but it sounds like the 33-year-old will soon have big shoes to fill amid rumours he's set to become the next James Bond.
The Sun reports that a source said that the role is 'Aaron's job, should he wish to accept it' and that Eon Productions, the company behind the films, has offered him the job. 'The formal offer is on the table and they are waiting to hear back,' the source added.
The news comes days after Numero magazine published an interview with the actor during which he addressed rumours linking him to the famous role. 'I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment,' he said.
If he does take on the role as the 7th Bond in the film franchise, he would follow Daniel Craig and a long line of actors including Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
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Taylor-Johnson married his wife, director Sam Taylor-Johnson, in 2012 after meeting on the set of the 2009 film Nowhere Boy, which starred Aaron and was directed by Sam. The couple, who have a 24-year age gap, welcomed their daughters, Wylda Rae and Romy Hero in July 2010 and January 20212, respectively. The pair also parent Sam's daughters, Jessie and Angelica, from her previous marriage to art dealer Jay Jopling.
Here's a timeline of Aaron and Sam Taylor Johnson's relationship:
April 2024: Sam Taylor-Johnson makes a rare comment on the couple's age gap
The director has discussed the criticism faced by the couple for their 24-year age gap, especially commentary on social media.
'It’s just there, but it doesn’t mean anything,' she said in an interview with The Guardian published on April 6. 'It is just people upset with their own sadness; with misgivings about their own life [...] After 14 years you just think, surely by now it doesn’t really matter?'
She also noted that her children take a similar approach. 'They see two loving, happy parents, so it doesn’t really register,' she said. 'They just think people are a bit mean, or mad.'
March 2024: Aaron Taylor-Johnson comments on public criticism of marriage age-gap
The actor has spoken about the criticism he and his wife Sam have faced over the years since they married.
'What you gotta realise,' he told Rolling Stone UK in an interview published on March 20, 'is that what most people were doing in their twenties, I was doing when I was 13'.
He added: 'You're doing something too quickly for someone else? I don't understand that. What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It's bizarre to me.'
The star went on to describe his wife as a 'great filmmaker and a wonderful storyteller', noting of their privacy: 'There's a protectiveness that I feel.
'I think it's really difficult. There's also part of me that feels like if something didn't work, I'm the one that's responsible.'
Aaron Taylor-Johnson celebrates his wife's 54th birthday
To celebrate his partner's birthday, Aaron shared a sweet Instagram post to mark the occasion.
'You’re an exceptional woman, there’s really no one I know quite like you,' he wrote. 'You are my love, my soulmate and I’m always blown away by you.'
August 2023: Aaron Taylor-Johnson discusses being a young father
In an interview with Esquire, he revealed that he knew from a young age that he was going to be a young father. 'I knew I was going to have many kids,' he told the publication, noting that he loves the 'everyday stuff' parenting entails. 'Getting my kids ready in the mornings, taking them to school and activities—that’s plenty. That feeds my soul.'
June 2023: Sam Taylor-Johnson shares steamy photo of her husband on his birthday
To mark her partner's 33rd birthday, Sam took to Instagram to share a black and white photo of the actor, noting in the caption: 'Happy Birthday dear heart ♥️ You’re the sweetest husband and incredible Father to all our girls. We love you.'
June 2022: Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson renew their wedding vows
The couple celebrated their love with a vow renewal ceremony on June 21, 2022.
Aaron shared a photo of himself kissing his wife on Instagram and wrote: 'Yesterday was the most beautiful day, summer solstice, our 10th anniversary… we renewed our vows to one another and confessed our love in front of our nearest and dearest friends and family it was a celebration of love and joy!
'A decade of marriage. It was a magical unforgettable day and the sun did not stop shining on us both. we are blessed beyond belief. Sammy you are my love, my life, my soulmate, my wife, my world!'
June 2021: Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson get matching tattoos
While tattoos dedicated to your partner might usually be associated with the giddy, rushing haze of a new relationship, Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson marked 10 years of marriage with tribute tattoos to each other.
The couple visited celebrity tattooist Dr Woo for body ink dedicated to each other.
On the actor, the tattooist inked a drawing of a new 'healed hummingbird' on the actor's chest, which was placed next to an existing tattoo of his wife's name 'Sam' inscribed in intricate calligraphy. Sharing a second photo of the couple together on May 31, the artist revealed that the director had repaid the ode to her spouse by having 'Aaron' inked in similar handwriting on her left shoulder blade.
November 2019: Aaron Taylor-Johnson opens up about the first moment he realised he had romantic feelings for Sam
‘I remember it very, very clearly,’ he told Harper’s Bazaar. ‘I know exactly what she was wearing. This white shirt that she still has, that I love. It definitely changed my life, though not in the way I expected.’
‘We were very professional through the entire film,’ he said of their relationship during shooting Nowhere Boy. ‘No funny business at all.’
While the pair kept their feelings for each other under wraps at the time, the Nocturnal Animals star admitted that he knew everyone on set was aware of their relationship.
‘And as soon as we finished, he told me he was going to marry me. We had never been on a date, or even kissed,' the director said. 'And a year to the minute after we met, exactly one year to the minute, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.
‘In the 10 years we’ve been together, we’ve only been apart for maybe two or three days. And those were the worst days of those 10 years.’
February 2017: Aaron Taylor-Johnson addresses the couple's 23-year age gap
In an interview for New York Magazine's Vulture, a 26-year-old Aaron took the opportunity to discuss the difficulty adjusting to fame – most notably, the scrutiny of his marriage to the Fifty Shades of Grey director.
Discussing the pitfalls of fame, the private actor revealed he continues to struggle with talk of his marriage to Sam, after the pair married in 2012 at Babington House, Somerset.
He said: 'The attention was intrusive. 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*ck it' instead of wanting to rip someone's head off for asking questions I don't like.'
It's a sentiment shared by wife Sam. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter a year earlier, the director said she tried hard not to care about the opinions of others.
'If I gave a second thought to other people, I would be the unhappiest person, probably still in a miserable marriage,' she told THR. 'People like to talk about it. I'm like, "Yeah, but it works better than my last marriage." It's lasted longer than a lot of my friends' marriages.'
However, despite the pair's long-term relationship, Aaron said he doubted he'd ever be able to cope with intrusive questions about their romance.
'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,' he said.
In 2015, Aaron hit back at the criticism to Saturday's Times magazine, saying: '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.'
January 2017: Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives a shout out to wife Sam during Golden Globes speech
After taking home the award for Best Performance by an Actor for his role in Nocturnal Animals in 2017, he said: 'I want to thank my wife for being there with me, supporting me through this. Thank you for putting up with me. Jesus, that was not very pleasant in this role, so you're my soulmate and I love you very much.
'I'm blessed. I have four beautiful daughters: Angelica, Phoenix, Wylda, and Romy, I love you all very much.'
January 2015: Sam Taylor-Johnson gushes over life at home with Aaron
In an interview with The Guardian, the director said of the pair's home life: 'The great thing about Aaron is that he's happy not working and being at home with the kids while I work. We're actually fighting over it. He's like, "No no, I like being an at-home dad, doing the cooking and the school runs."
'Being in an amazing relationship, having come out of a difficult one, it felt so good. And I feel like that stability has enabled me to get on with doing this momentous project.'
ELLE UK has reached out to Eon Productions and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's teams for comment.
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