Aaron Taylor-Johnson: Who is he and what are his James Bond credentials?
He’s being touted as the next 007, but who is Aaron Taylor-Johnson – and does he have the action and acting skills to be the next James Bond?
Pic: AP
First off, who is he?
The 33-year-old British star was born Aaron Perry Johnson in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in 1990.
Excelling at drama, dance and singing, he was a successful child actor – with his first professional stage appearance aged just six in a London production of Macbeth.
As a teenager he appeared in movies including Shanghai Knights in which he played a young Charlie Chaplin, and The Illusionist, where he was the child version of Edward Norton’s lead character Eduard Abramovich.
He also took the role of the young love interest in comedy drama Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.
But his breakthrough role was just around the corner…
What’s he been in?
Taylor-Johnson’s first big lead role came in 2009 when he was chosen to play Beatles legend John Lennon in Nowhere Boy.
Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy. Pic: Alamy
The performance would be an important milestone in his life – seeing him not only receive critical acclaim and win the Empire best newcomer award, but also meet the woman who would become his wife.
While playing Lennon may have required a certain cerebral sensitivity, there’s no doubt over Taylor-Johnson’s physical credentials for a 007 role, having gone on to play a range of parts requiring him to quite literally, kick ass.
He played the superhero title character in the 2010 hit, Kick-Ass, and its 2013 sequel Kick-Ass 2, and staying in the Marvel cinematic universe he went on to play Pietro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Taylor-Johnson at Comic Con in 2013. Pic: AP
Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz in Kick-Ass. Pic: Alamy
Plus, he had a part in 2014 monster reboot Godzilla – it’s always good to boost your on-screen bravery score.
And proving there’s more to him than just running around and fighting, he’s appeared in crime thriller Savages, period drama Anna Karenina, and psychological thriller Nocturnal Animals for which he won a Golden Globe.
Brian Tyree Henry and Taylor-Johnson in Bullet Train. Pic: Alamy
Then on to Christopher Nolan’s time-bending movie Tenet in 2020, and action-comedy Bullet Train in 2022.
As for his current acting status, Taylor-Johnson has just finished Marvel superhero film Kraven The Hunter after playing the title character and Spider-Man villain.
Taylor-Johnson as Ford Brody in Godzilla. Pic: Alamy
He is also set to appear in The Fall Guy, starring man of the moment, Ryan Gosling, and writer Robert Eggers’s historical vampire horror Nosferatu.
What do we know about his personal life?
Taylor-Johnson met his wife, director Sam Taylor-Johnson, on the set of Nowhere Boy.
Sam Taylor-Johnson and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in 2019. Pic: AP
He was the 18-year-old star of the film, and she was more than 20 years his senior when they met. They tied the knot three years later.
The couple have two daughters – Wylda Rae, 13, and Romy Hero, 11, plus Taylor-Johnson is stepfather to Angelica, 26 and Jessie, 17, who are from Sam Taylor-Johnson’s marriage to her first husband, art dealer Jay Jopling.
Shaken and not stirred?
Taylor-Johnson previously told Nylon Guys magazine he used to “smoke 30 [cigarettes] a day” and “drink nonstop”, but put an end to his partying ways after meeting his wife.
While it’s not known if he’s a fan of martinis (of either the gin or vodka variety), it seems likely his earlier drinking practice will have put him in a strong position to convincingly knock back 007’s favourite tipple.
Taylor-Johnson at the Governors Awards in 2016. Pic: AP
Can he pull off a tux?
Quite frankly – yes.
Taylor-Johnson was named one of GQ’s 50 best-dressed British men in 2015.
So, he’s definitely got the fashionistas’ approval.
Taylor-Johnson with Cate Blanchett at the Giorgio Armani women’s Fall-Winter 2024-25 collection show. Pic: AP
And what’s he said about Bond?
Last week, he was asked about Bond by Numero Magazine and said: “I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment.”
Taylor-Johnson is yet to confirm or deny reports he’ll be playing the seventh James Bond.
Sky News has contacted his representatives, as well as Eon Productions, who produce the Bond movies, for comment.
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Om Fahad: Iraqi social media influencer shot dead by gunman on motorbike who posed as food delivery rider – report
A well-known Iraqi social media influencer has reportedly been shot dead in her car by a gunman on a motorbike.
Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was killed outside her home in Baghdad’s Zayouna district on Friday, according to the AFP news agency, citing security officials.
It appears the unidentified attacker pretended to be delivering food to the victim, one security source said.
Om Fahad, who has nearly half a million TikTok followers, became famous for posting light-hearted videos where she dances to Iraqi music.
Six days ago, she shared footage of herself driving in a car and also posing in front of a mirror. They have each been watched hundreds of thousands of times.
The influencer was sentenced to six months in prison in February last year for sharing videos that a court ruled contained “indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality”.
A campaign was launched in 2023 by the Iraqi government to clamp down on social media content which broke the country’s “morals and traditions”.
The interior ministry set up a committee to look for “offensive” clips on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, with several influencers being arrested.
“This type of content is no less dangerous than organised crime,” the ministry declared in a promotional video which asked the public to help by reporting such content.
“It is one of the causes of the destruction of the Iraqi family and society.”
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Speaking last year, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan argued the morality campaign has “nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
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In 2018, gunmen in Baghdad shot dead Tara Fares, who was a model and influencer.
After years of war and sectarian conflict following the 2003 US invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to some semblance of normality despite sporadic violence, political instability and corruption.
But civil liberties, particularly among women and sexual minorities, are still constrained in a conservative and male-dominated society.
R Kelly’s challenge against a 20-year sentence for child sex convictions has been quashed by an appeals court.
The singer was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison, a Chicago court ruled on Friday.
He was convicted in 2022 on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
In his appeal, Kelly, 57, argued Illinois’ old statute of limitations – which required prosecution of child sex crime charges within 10 years – should have applied, rather than the current law permitting charges while an accuser is still alive.
The appeals court rejected this, labelling it an attempt by Kelly to elude the charges entirely after “employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet”.
He also argued that charges involving one accuser should have been tried separately from the charges tied to three other accusers due to video evidence that became a focal point of the Chicago trial.
Prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser, only identified as Jane, testified for the first time that she was 14 when the video was taken.
The three-judge panel from the appeals court noted jurors acquitted Kelly on seven of the 13 counts against him “even after viewing those abhorrent tapes”.
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In a written statement, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they plan to seek a US Supreme Court review of the decision and “pursue all of his appellate remedies until we free R Kelly”.
“We are disappointed in the ruling, but our fight is far from over,” she said.
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