Aaron Taylor-Johnson found the role of serial killer Ray Marcus in ‘Nocturnal Animals’ “really, really difficult”.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson found playing a serial killer 'really, really difficult'
The 34-year-old actor starred opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and Isla Fisher in Tom Ford’s 2016 crime-thriller as the serial killer, though struggled to portray such a vicious character and felt “so out of [his] depth”.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Taylor-Johnson said: “I had a real issue taking on that role. I found it really, really difficult.
“I couldn’t understand why Tom – who I knew, sort of, from dinner parties here and there – wanted me to play a serial killer. My feeling was: ‘I can’t. I don’t see a way in here. I don’t even know what you want me to do.’ I was so out of my depth.
“Tom’s whole thing was, ‘I just feel like this character should have so much charisma. That’s what’s unpredictable about him.’”
The ‘Kick-Ass’ star added he “went down a whole rabbit hole of serial killers” to prepare for the role, and “took pieces from lots of different places” to make Ray a believable force of evil.
He explained: “It’s more shocking that way. Ray is quite a fresh-faced, charming-looking individual. But Tom wanted him to be weird and freaky as well. Tom expects perfection, so I just felt: ‘I cannot fail this guy.’
“I went down a whole rabbit hole of serial killers: Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez. With Bundy, one of the big things is that he had charisma and charm. I took pieces from lots of different places.
“And I remember giving Tom a range of different things. It was definitely a life lesson for just being a little bit outside your comfort zone and putting the hard work in. What came out was something unique and different.”
Taylor-Johnson can currently be seen in Sony’s superhero flick ‘Kraven the Hunter’ in which he stars as the titular character.
The film - which also stars Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose and Fred Heckinger - follows the young huntsman and his tenuous relationship with his father, which ultimately sets him down a path of vengeance as he seeks to become the most feared hunter the world has ever seen.
Reflecting on the picture, Taylor-Johnson revealed he had studied Marvel Comics’ 2006 story ‘Kraven's Last Hunt’ to prepare for the part, and added he wanted to channel the character's “dark demons” that are present in the source material for his performance.
He explained to Screen Rant: “One of my favourite stories is 'Kraven's Last Hunt'. It was one of the source materials I used to go back from.
“He's got some dark demons there and we are basically showing the birth of that and how he becomes a villain that we then come to know.”
Looking to the future, the ‘Bullet Train’ star said he wanted Kraven to go “toe-to-toe” with Spider-Man and some of Marvel's other big superheroes in a crossover blockbuster.
He pondered: “I mean, it's very much the question to everyone else really, right? Because I think what we've done, what we've set up in this story is a really rich character that definitely has the legs to go on and do more damage.
“I think he should go toe-to-toe with some superheroes that we know.”
Tagged in Jake Gyllenhaal Isla Fisher Michael Shannon