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Since hitting it big after 2010’sKick-Ass,Aaron Taylor-Johnsonhas showcased a wide range of talent across a series of diverse roles. He can be the solid everyday hero, as seen in 2014’sGodzilla; he can be bone-chillingly frightening, as seen in 2016’sNocturnal Animals, and he can hold his own in a superhero franchise (Avengers: Age of Ultron). He’s in an interesting position where he could be a typical movie star or a go-to character actor, which isn’t all that common for someone with the looks and rumors attached to being the next James Bond.
What he displays in the recently releasedThe Fall Guyis not only an on-point sense of comic timing but also an unchecked energy level. As actor Tom Ryder, despite playing a parody of an action star,Johnson has a bit of an unhinged level of tenacity that he brings to the character. It’s something that should have fans excited about his next big role, as it’s this unchecked energy that he will likely bring on a savage level forKraven the Hunter.
Aaron Taylor Johnson Leaves an Impression in a Small Role
InThe Fall Guy, Johnson’s Tom Ryder is a Hollywood action star who claims to doall his stunts, only for the audience to quickly know that his stuntman, Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), takes all the hard hits. As the film progresses, Tom goes AWOL under mysterious circumstances, and it’s revealed that Tom has done something stupid that an over-eager producer (Hannah Waddingham) is trying to cover up.
Johnson is only in a handful of scenes, but his appearances are memorable, particularly one scene that depicts him going a bit too wild at a hotel party gone wrong. It’s a very satirical performance, poking fun at Hollywood types that wouldn’t dream of coming close to danger, but it’s another example of how the actor is always 100 percent committed to a role. From the absurdity of his ego to his physicality in the role to the chaotic yet suave nature of his performance, Johnson will likely flip this in a way when we see himportray Kraven the Hunter, aka Sergei Kravinoff.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Brings an Offbeat Energy to The Fall Guy
Kraven the Hunter
Johnson tends to shine the most when he’s playing offbeat characters. InThe Fall Guy, he’s playing a parody of a masculine action star, and even though he’s poking fun at the concept, it also shows how good at the actual role he can be. He’s already shown this before in anotherDavid Leitch-directedeffort,Bullet Train, where he played a less-than-competent assassin. It’s Leitch’s subversive casting in that film andThe Fall Guythat works.
The best thing about parody is that it’s hard to make fun of something if you don’t have knowledge of what you’re making fun of, so even though Johnson has to pretend like he doesn’t know what he’s doing inThe Fall Guy, it’s apparent that he will have the necessary skills to do the wall-to-wallaction inKraven the Hunter. Hell, Sony set out to cast Johnson after seeing early footage of the actor inBullet Train, so they knew exactly what kind of energy he could bring to the role.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Says Kraven the Hunter Will Challenge ‘Certain Studios Churning Out’ Same Stuff
Aaron Taylor-Johnson believes Kraven the Hunter can offer something different from the rest.
In his own way, Kraven is also offbeat. There’s a reason why he’s one ofSpider-Man’s most formidable foesin the comic books because he’s skilled as a big-game hunter, with Spider-Man being “the most dangerous game,” but he’s also a complicated personality. He’s not a true villain in the classical sense. He’s not out for world domination or seeking to bend civilization to his will. His goal in defeating Spider-Man is to prove that he’s the greatest hunter in the world. In the comics, he doesn’t like to use guns or bow and arrows, as he shows considerable disdain for them. He’d rather subdue his prey with his bare hands because he lives by an honor and code where he wants to hunt fairly.
Whether or not the film taps into Kraven’s sense of honor remains to be seen, but from what we have seen from the trailer is thatJohnson displays an animalistic approach to some of the actionshowcased in the preview, which makes it clear he has tapped into Kraven’s skill as a true hunter. The actor’s physicality should not be questioned because not only does he look like an action specimen, but it also looks like he put in the work to back it up. Oddly enough, Johnson also looks like the action physical specimen inThe Fall Guybut has to play up not having the skills. InKraven the Hunter, he’ll be able to show that he was in on the joke, and now he’s here to play.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Has Already Shown Animalistic Energy
What will be even more impressive to see is Johnson bringing some of this untapped energy to the first R-rated film inSony’s Spider-Man Universe. In the very first trailer, the audience gets a sense of Kraven’s bloody hunting skills as he’s seen skewering bad guys with crossbows and even getting to bite off someone’s nose. The trailer goes a long way to show that this won’t be the signature action we have seen in many recent comic book movies.
Kraven the Hunter’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson Shares the Unconventional Method He Used to Prepare for the Main Role
Kraven the Hunter’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson reveals the method to the madness.
Even though this is only a brief look at what Johnson can do in the role, it’sapparent that he has a no-holds-barred approach to portraying the animal within Kraven. This requires an actor who lacks vanity and isn’t afraid to do anything on camera. This is why it’s crucial that he has the movie star sensibility to play an action role of this level and the character actor’s skill to find less-than-desirable meaning in why he’s doing the things that he does.
It comes down to flipping expectations. On the surface, Johnson’srole inThe Fall Guydoesn’t appear to be much prep for what he would have to do inKraven the Hunter, but it is. Tom Ryder is not a normal guy. He’s played up for laughs, and Johnson throws himself into the character completely without any sense of embarrassment. He has the knowledge to know that he has to play this character to the limit because the joke won’t work.
Bringing a similar energy toKraven the Hunteris essential. He has to be 100 percent committed to Kraven’s motivations, his thirst for the hunt, and his desire to take down his prey. If that energy isn’t on display, the portrayal won’t work. Thankfully, an actor of Johnson’s caliber indicates he’s more than capable of giving fans a take of Kraven they deserve.Kraven the Hunteris heading to theaters on Aug 08, 2025.
