Aaron Taylor-Johnson backstage at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards

January 9, 2017

by Carla Hay

The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards took place on January 8, 2017, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON

Golden Globe win:

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

(“Nocturnal Animals”)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H15PPd6BWG0

Here is what this Golden Globe winner said backstage in the Golden Globe Awards press room.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards
Aaron Taylor-Johnson at the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 8, 2017. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW

What was the most challenging part of your role in “Nocturnal Animals”?

You know, every day was pretty intense and grueling. I think maybe the first day of shooting the big car sequence. Jake Gyllenhaal is a talented actor, and my role was to provoke and manipulate him and trying to get a reaction. And I think that was my challenge to give him as much material to work from, so I wanted to be as giving as possible.

What is your dream passion project?

To be working with people I enjoy working with. I love different characters, and I love to explore different genres, but it’s such a luxury to do what we do. You want to just work with the people that are also passionate and enjoy it too.

You got to briefly thank your parents in your acceptance speech right at the end. Do you want to expound on that at all?

Well yeah, I guess if I could … I started acting when I was 6 years old, so they gave me that opportunity, and I ran with it. I found my passion, and if it wasn’t for that and the fact that they … kind of encouraged me to do what I enjoy doing that I wouldn’t be here.

They just encouraged me to do what I enjoy doing. My mother would take me up and down from [where] I lived outside the city and I would get trained take about an hour and a half to get in. If I had an audition when I was young, she was there to support me and be by my side. She gave up her job to really help me do what I’m doing.

Are you wearing Tom Ford tonight? What did your parents say when they saw you play this role in “Nocturnal Animals”?

Yes, this is a Tom Ford tux. And my parents—shout out to them actually to see me because they got up at 4 a.m. They’re living in Qatar, so they’re watching on their TV screen right now, and I know they’re just extremely proud … I think they saw [“Nocturnal Animals”] at the London Film Festival, and they were just I don’t know … This is a really hard movie to watch. I think they were pulled in by the thriller, so they were moved.

The character is an extreme type of guy. A lot of people know you for starring in “Kick-Ass,” where you played a very moral character. Your character in “Nocturnal Animals” is the opposite. So how do you prepare for that?

I’m grateful for the opportunity from Tom Ford. I was perplexed why he chose me for a role like this because this is definitely something out of my comfort zone and a challenge. It was intense and grueling, and I spent three months prior to making the movie watching documentaries on serial killers or psychopaths.

And this guy was set in West Texas, so I would listen to characters from there, dialect-wise, and we kind of went from there. You know I had a lot of sleepless nights watching this material. Psychologically, it’s hard.

You sported some very serious facial hair in this role. Can you tell us the story behind that and how it affected your performance?

I remember Tom offering the job in summertime and it was about three months prior to making the movie. And he just said, “Grow your hair out, grow your beard, grow your fingernails out so that I have enough to play with. I don’t even know what I’m going to do yet but I just need to kind of be out to see what I can play with.” And that’s what he did. He got a razor out and he personally like gave me muttonchops. He took the chin off and played around, and they straightened my hair, and we started to mold this character.

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