Anna Karenina (2012)
Savages (2012)
Albert Nobbs (2011)
Sky Movies Magazine speaks exclusively to Aaron Johnson about his role as self-styled superhero Kick-Ass…Sky Movies Magazine: Tell us about your so-geeky-he’s-cool character Dave Lizewski aka Kick-Ass…
Aaron Johnson: He’s got nothing going for him, but behind the mask he feels like he can do anything… It’s all about imagination and escaping and trying to find an outlet. That’s what Kick-Ass is.
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On Finding His On-Stage Lennon
Aaron Johnson: I did a bunch of research to really know the boundaries–how to play him, how to give him the swagger, how he played guitar. It took me a couple of months of practicing playing guitar and immersing myself in rock and roll—in Elvis, and Eddie Cochran, and Buddy Holly. I started watching what John would have watched, all this footage of those guys who were his inspiration. I wanted to see how they held the guitar and rolled their hips because that’s how he would have tried to do it at first.I’m not a musician and I was definitely pretty nervous doing the performance scenes, but I was determined to do it. We tried to keep those first performances messy–they weren’t good. He and his band were all over the place and a bit crummy the first time they performed. But up on stage John has that way about him–he puts on the showman. And I wanted to show that Lennon sense of humor. It’s a huge part of him, that quick wit, the sarcasm and funny voices, the impersonations. He loved to make you feel uncomfortable; he was very good at that.
Here’s an old interview with Aaron when he was doing his Nowhere Boy press interviews.
Aaron Johnson is on the cusp of going from “Nowhere Boy” to Somewhere Man.
With his piercing blue eyes and charming frankness, the 20-year-old British actor’s star is certainly on the rise. Of course, a resume that takes him from a pathetic wannabe superhero to a young John Lennon doesn’t hurt either.
The breakout “Kick-Ass” star returns to theaters in “Nowhere Boy,” which takes a look at Lennon as a teenager, examining his relationships with his mother, his aunt and his new friend, Paul McCartney. Johnson admits playing such a beloved public figure was a bit daunting.
“I can’t deny that I was slightly nervous to begin with,” he tells NextMovie. “But I think I used those nerves as sort of jet power to make sure I could go through as much research as possible… If I know where my boundaries are and I know as much details and facts, then I felt I could throw it all away and not worry about that and what people think.”
In addition to learning to play the guitar, banjo and harmonica and sing for the part, Johnson found a pair of entirely new roles in his real life – that of husband and father. The youngster fell in love and married his “Nowhere Boy” director, Sam Taylor-Wood, 43, and they welcomed a daughter in July.
“I love being a father and I feel like I was meant to be a father,” he admits.
Apparently, he was meant to be an actor as well.
What was your first acting gig?
I was on stage in the West End and was in a Stephen Daldry play – I forget what it’s called – one that he directed. I remember performing onstage. I didn’t have any lines or anything. And then I did “Macbeth” when I was like eight.
RT: So, I guess we have to ask: is there a Kick-Ass sequel in any stage of development?
Aaron Johnson: No. I mean I’d happily do a sequel and I’d love to do that character again. It was a lot of fun. The comic book writers are writing the comic book and I guess we’ll make the movie when we come around to it, which is not gonna be very soon. It’s gonna be a while.
Stepping into the shoes of a musical icon is never an easy role, particularly when that person is none other than The Beatles’ singer-songwriter John Lennon, a bonafide 20th-century pop giant. Yet in this week’s Nowhere Boy — which explores the rocker’s turbulent teenage life before he was famous — British actor Aaron Johnson manages to move beyond mere impersonation, giving an affecting performance that captures the young Lennon’s essence. That Johnson was just 18 at the time is impressive, as is the fact that he went directly from filming his lead in this year’s superhero riff Kick-Ass to the very different role of a tortured teenager in 1950s Liverpool.
We spoke to Aaron recently about playing Lennon, and whether there’ll be a Kick-Ass sequel; but first, we asked him to run through his five favorite films. “Obviously these are all a bunch of classic, cult movies,” he points out. “It’s probably not that interesting for people to hear me say them, because they’re like the best f**king movies anyway.”
Pulp Fiction (1994, 94% Tomatometer)
Pulp Fiction was probably one of the first films I ever saw that really kind of took effect on me. I was about four years old — obviously wasn’t supposed to be seeing that film; my sister kind of sneaked it out and we got to see it. She’s older than me. That was something I always used to watch. I loved the scenes with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson; when I was older I could understand a little more. It was funny, me and my sister would have this little running thing where we’d know the lines to Ezekiel 25:17. My sister actually bought me a wallet that had “Bad Mother F**ker” written on it. But yeah, Tarantino. That was where my appreciation of directors began. It was beyond the actors at that point. Everything he’s touched I’ve loved. I became a huge fan of him and his work.
Aaron Johnson doesn’t listen to much new music, but he has heard of Lady Gaga. “I only know her because she’s all over the fucking place,” explains the raffish 20-year-old Brit. Stating the obvious, he adds, “But I don’t like her songs.” In fact, Johnson, who made an impression on American audiences as a clumsy masked avenger in the superhero satire Kick-Ass, isn’t all that fond of contemporary pop in general. “No one’s got anything great to sing about. It’s all about getting pussy in the club, drinking, being rich and famous. It’s all, I-wanna-bend-her-over-and-fuck-her-in-the-ass–type music. I find that music shit.”
Thank heavens, then, that his latest film, Nowhere Boy, is a biopic about a pre-Beatles John Lennon, not a young Marshall Mathers. Directed by celebrated British artist Sam Taylor-Wood (who fell in love with Johnson on set and recently gave birth to the couple’s daughter), the film charts Lennon’s teenage years and the formation of his friendship with Paul McCartney. For Johnson, it influenced how he listens to one of his favorite bands. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was my introduction to them,” he says of the Beatles, “but if I had to choose a favorite album it would be one of the earlier ones when they were just starting out, and still had that Buddy Holly feel. There’s something about an artist when they’re starting out, a raw energy you can’t quite put your finger on.” Here, along with 11 other legendary acts, he tries to do just that.
Elvis Presley. My only memory of my sister’s 9th birthday—I must have been about 4—was this Elvis song coming on, and all the boys and girls dancing with each other. Elvis sings, “I can’t help falling in love with you.” What’s it called? [Ed. note: It’s called “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”] When I hear that song, it reminds me of that party. There are a few songs that he sings that are absolutely beautiful beyond belief.
I was walking down the street this morning, and a woman was listening to her headphones and singing, “Love is all you need” over and over again. Do you experience those same sorts of synchronicities?
Big time, big time… There was one moment where we were singing “Hello Little Girl,” and at the time I felt like I was really f*cking it up and not getting it quite right or how I performed it, I dunno, it didn’t feel too good. Anyway, Sam was like, Well, look, — ’cause this was rehearsal, just before setting the camera up — and [she said], Okay, take five minutes off and we’ve got to set up in here anyway and we need to pull the carpet up and I moved the chair just a little bit, the chair that I’m sitting on, and then they pull the carpet up, and right underneath the chair is [a newspaper dated] 1968 or something like this, with John Lennon on the front of this newspaper that’s been preserved this whole time. It was just so insane, because the location that we were at was just this broken-down home… [The newspaper was] under the carpet; it was under that chair I was sitting on. It was insane. So I dunno, it felt like his spirit was in the room. There were moments like that quite a lot. It was incredible.
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Aaron was on Good Day L.A. promoting ‘Nowhere Boy’. Full interview can be seen below and a few on set pictures from his appearance can be found in the gallery. Actual screencaps from the interview will be uploaded soon!
“Nowhere Boy” is a critically acclaimed film about the life of John Lennon growing up in Liverpool England. Aaron Johnson stars as the young Lennon tells “Good Day LA” to talk about what it was like to play such an iconic figure.
GALLERY LINK:
- Appearances > 2010 > Fox 11 Los Angeles Good Day L.A.
Breathing life into John Lennon, one of history’s most iconic figures, would seem like an insurmountable task to some, but Aaron Johnson jumped at the chance. Especially since he would be presenting a portion of Lennon’s life fans had never seen before — his childhood.
But as “Nowhere Boy” plays out, it quickly becomes clear that his pre-Beatles existence was just as fascinating. I caught up with Aaron to talk about the challenges living as Lennon presented, how he quelled those nerves and why you won’t be buying his debut CD on iTunes any time soon!
PopWrap: I was continually surprised by how much I didn’t know about John Lennon while watching this movie — were you?
Aaron Johnson: Hugely. I didn’t know anything about that part of his life that’s never been documented either. To express the most important part of Lennon’s life – the stuff that almost explains who he is as an artist — was exciting. The insecure, vulnerable, defensive Lennon.
Making its debut on October 8th, the eve of what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday, is the touching biopic, Nowhere Boy. W spoke with lead actor Aaron Johnson about his film role as a young John Lennon, depicting the boyhood heartbreaks and teenage exploits that shaped the man whose music forever changed the world.
Were you a fan of John Lennon or The Beatles growing up?
I’m British, so it’s embedded in our history and culture. I love the Beatles, of course, and the music.How did being a fan affect your portrayal of John?
I never knew the in depth backstory of John Lennon. The script was my first insight into it. I guess not being a Beatles fanatic or from that generation allowed me to look outside the box and study, really observe what went on then. The pressure is on when you are playing anyone who was once alive. It being a true story, I wanted to do as much research as possible.