Aaron Taylor-Johnson dived 16 feet "off a cliff" for his first Acqua di Gio campaign.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson learned to do the perfect swan dive for new campaign
The 33-year-old actor - who was recently named the new ambassador for the men's scent from Giorgio Armani - wanted to make sure his first photoshoot told the right "story" while staying true to the brand's history.
He told Women's Wear Daily: "That was fantastic to shoot, trying to convey the Acqua di Giò man of today... this story of a man who’s on the precipice of change. "There’s always an iconic jump or dive, and in this sequence, I trained to do this dive, which was a stunt, essentially.
"It was a 16-foot dive off a cliff.”
With one week until the shoot, Aaron pushed himself with two four-hour sessions with a stunt coordinator and an Olympic diver to perfect the swan dive.
One idea for the campaign was for him to simply run and jump off the cliff, but he wanted to go further.
He added: "I said: ‘It really needs to feel more liberating than that.
"'It really needs to feel like this character is deciding to take a leap of faith into the unknown.' "
The campaign then sees the 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' star come out of the ocean renewed and ready for the next step.
He explained: "That’s what I feel this fragrance has the power to do.
"You come out of the shower, you put on the fragrance and can smell the salty air and the minerals, and it feels like you’re starting your day fresh, with a new intention, a new purpose.”
Meanwhile, Giorgio Armani feels Aaron is the perfect partner for the scent's new campaign.
He said in a statement: “Acqua Di Giò embodies a way of understanding masculinity that is at once free, sensitive and adventurous.
“These are all characteristics that Aaron expresses with his presence and physicality.
“It was this balance of mind and body that convinced me that he was the right person to represent the fragrance.
"Aaron has an intensity and beauty that is both self-aware and emblematic of today.”
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