Aaron Taylor-Johnson spoke out about negative comments he and his wife, Sam Taylor-Johnson, face about their relationship.
The two met in 2008 on the set of Sam’s directorial debut, the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, when Aaron was 18 and Sam was 42. They were engaged a year later, and quickly welcomed two daughters shortly after.
The couple’s age difference — especially given that Aaron was a teenager at the time — has been heavily scrutinized over the years. Still, they have stayed together, with Aaron writing earlier this month for Sam’s birthday, “You are my love, my soulmate, and I’m always blown away by you.”
When Rolling Stone UK asked Aaron about being “judged about doing things at certain ages,” Aaron replied, “What you gotta realize is that what most people were doing in their 20s, I was doing when I was 13.”
Indeed, Aaron started acting at the age of 6 and left school at 15. He continued, “You’re doing something too quickly for someone else? I don’t understand that. What speed are you supposed to enjoy life at? It’s bizarre to me.”
Throughout the interview, Aaron spoke highly of his “four gorgeous daughters” and his reluctance to take on a television limited series — as it would mean being away from home for too long. Of his daughters being born, he said, “You realize it’s your job to protect the purest, most innocent thing that’s come into the world. And it’s your duty to be their role model. You are going to be reflected in their choices later on in life, from who their partners are to how they carry themselves in the world.”
Aaron did talk about Sam’s upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic, telling the publication, “Sam is actually a great filmmaker and a wonderful storyteller. People will think there’s sort of a bias to me saying it, but I think when they see Back to Black, everyone’s going to realize how fantastic a filmmaker she is.”
Aaron most recently collaborated with Sam on the 2018 movie A Million Little Pieces, but said that he finds criticism geared toward their work together more difficult to deal with. He explained, “There’s a protectiveness that I feel; I think it’s really difficult. There’s also part of me that feels like if something didn’t work, I’m the one that’s responsible.”
You can read the full interview here.