Aaron Taylor-Johnson immerses himself in killers and dirty habits for ‘Nocturnal Animals’
The handsome 26-year-old who greets a visitor poolside at a West Hollywood hotel looks nothing like the vicious Texan killer he plays in Tom Ford’s well-received “Nocturnal Animals.” But Aaron Taylor-Johnson has always been something of a chameleon throughout his eclectic career. The British actor, who has been performing since he was 9, is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the two “Kick-Ass” movies and Quicksilver in last year’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” He has been alternating between these big-budget Hollywood movies and TV projects and smaller prestige pictures such as “Albert Nobbs,” “Nowhere Boy,” “Savages” and “Anna Karenina” through the years.
In “Nocturnal,” he portrays Ray Marcus, a dangerous, sadistic leader of a trio of violent men, who kidnap and ultimately kill a man’s (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) wife and daughter after taking his time toying with them on a deserted roadside. Here, the articulate and charming actor discusses the grueling aspects of preparing for the role and the rewards of working with a perfectionist director like Ford.
I read before that you always do a lot of prep work for your parts. What did you do to get ready for this kind of role?
I knew it was going to be out of my comfort zone. Luckily, I had three months to prepare before we started shooting in November of last year. Tom told me to grow my hair and fingernails out. I lost 20 pounds, since I was coming out of the “Avengers” movie. I watched a lot of documentaries on serial killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer and HBO’s “The Jinx” [on suspected killer Robert Durst]. I read a book about killers on the road in 1950s America. I wanted to get insights on what made these charismatic psychopaths tick. I picked up dirty habits: I smoked and drank so that I felt toxic inside and out. Dialect coach Michael Buster helped me work on my Texan accent.
“Nocturnal Animals” full Q&A includes a chat between Glenn Whipp and actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael Shannon.
Tom Ford is known for being quite meticulous and a real perfectionist. What was your experience on the set?
One of the weird things that these types of serial killers have in common is that many of them have souvenirs of their previous victims — a hair clip, bracelet, etc. My character has a heart-shaped pinkie ring that looks like it came out of a children’s magazine. That’s the kind of detail Tom was interested in. He is very passionate about these details. He has an amazing aesthetic eye, but I really couldn’t have tackled a role like this if I didn’t feel like I could put my complete trust in him. He is decisive, so you know what the boundaries and limitations are, so you can just play with that. It’s remarkable that this was only his second film.
The scene in which you and your gang confront Tony (Gyllenhaal) and his wife (Isla Fisher) and daughter (Ellie Bamber) is quite powerful and disturbing. Tell us a little about the dynamics of filming that sequence.
That is one of the most visceral and pivotal scenes in the movie. It’s about ripping the character’s heart out. It was crucial that this scene had to work. It was a long scene, and the geography of it was difficult. We were pulling people out of one car, and they had to end up in another car. The technical and practical sides of it were very difficult to master. It took us three nights in a row to shoot it in the Mojave Desert. Once we got into the flow and rhythm of it, it was kind of beautiful. The reins were let go and we were able to just go at each other like caged animals. Tom was shooting the whole thing on film, so we would just keep going at it until the film would run out. We had to be instinctual and guttural.
How do you pick your projects?
I think you have to approach every job with curiosity and passion — whether it’s a big action blockbuster or a small independent movie. I’ve been lucky since I’ve been able to bounce around different genres, studios and indies. I’m interested in being part of the filmmaking process. I would love do a project with my wife [director Sam Taylor-Johnson, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Nowhere Boy”] one day. She can direct it, and I don’t have to be the lead. It would be great fun to work with her!
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