Aaron Taylor-Johnson Reveals Several Major Film Roles He 'Didn't Really Care For'

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is set to star as Kraven in the upcoming Sony and Marvel film Kraven the Hunter, putting him firmly back in the blockbuster camp after several years of supporting roles and passion projects. I's not a place where he's traditionally been most comfortable, according to a new Esquire profile.

The English actor has previously appeared in high-budget blockbusters, like his turn as Quicksilver in Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron. But after a string of successful films, he decided to start saying no more often after finding the experience less than satisfying.

“There was Kick-Ass,” he said, “and then there was Godzilla and Avengers, and all those things lined up for me. But I didn’t really care for them.”

According to Taylor-Johnson, this era of his career could have led to even bigger parts, but his growing family prompted him to turn down more projects. He referenced "big, huge franchises that were in play," that the public was never made aware of. Instead, he opted to focus on fatherhood after having two children with wife Sam Taylor-Johnson.

“I wanted, purely, to be with my babies,” he says. “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 anyway—it was too early. But yeah, I also slightly didn’t give a fuck.”

It's worth noting that Taylor-Johnson wasn't exactly absent in the years since those roles. He appeared in Christopher Nolan's Tenet and acted alongside Brad Pitt in last year's Bullet Train, amongst others. Still, it's a new phase of his career; rumors are also swirling that Taylor-Johnson could be the next James Bond, something he declined to comment on in his Esquire interview.

Instead, he summed up this next phase of his career succinctly.

“You can’t step into this role, you can’t step into what this franchise is, with a fucking half-assed, let’s see how it goes attitude,” he told Esquire. “You have to be mentally prepared for what could come with that. I think I’m secure in my life now to know that I’m happy to deal with that. I don’t think I was probably ready to invite that into my life earlier on.”