Aaron Taylor-Johnson Talks Bond Rumors, Marriage, and More

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is scooping up ruddy- pink globs of steak tartare and packing them like wet sand onto little ellipses of toasted bread, one bite at a time. The size of the space at Buvette Gastrothèque in New York's West Village means we're out in the open, visible. His eyes dart to the front door every time it opens. His body language says he's ready to be recognized, to be spotted—not waiting for it but scanning, steeling for it. It doesn't happen. Either everyone's being chill about his presence or nobody associates the guy at the table with the things he's been in. You've definitely seen him in things, though. That was him in Avengers: Age of Ultron, as a mutant dying a plot-twist death. That was him in Tenet, behind a massive Special Forces beard. Or you may have watched the long scene in Nocturnal Animals in which a redneck serial killer torments Jake Gyllenhaal and his family—just unmanning poor Jake—and thought, halfway through, Wait—is that the kid from Kick-Ass?

View in Browser  SHOP EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBE It's Aaron Taylor-Johnson Season! Aaron Taylor-Johnson is scooping up ruddy- pink globs of steak tartare and packing them like wet sand onto little ellipses of toasted bread, one bite at a time. The size of the space at Buvette Gastrothèque in New York's West Village means we're out in the open, visible. His eyes dart to the front door every time it opens. His body language says he's ready to be recognized, to be spotted—not waiting for it but scanning, steeling for it. It doesn't happen. Either everyone's being chill about his presence or nobody associates the guy at the table with the things he's been in. You've definitely seen him in things, though. That was him in Avengers: Age of Ultron, as a mutant dying a plot-twist death. That was him in Tenet, behind a massive Special Forces beard. Or you may have watched the long scene in Nocturnal Animals in which a redneck serial killer torments Jake Gyllenhaal and his family—just unmanning poor Jake—and thought, halfway through, Wait—is that the kid from Kick-Ass? Read More Aaron-Taylor Johnson Knows You Know About the Bond Stuff "I mean, if you're a betting man..." Read More The Essential Aaron Taylor-Johnson Viewing Guide 10 films to tide yourself over until Kraven the Hunter. Read More This Is What Happens When You Forget About the Fascism on the Ground We're spending so much time worrying about the encroaching fascism that might be coming from the top down that we're in danger of ignoring the fact that it's already pretty thick on the ground in local jurisdictions all over the country. Local sheriffs have tanks. Local police departments have heavy-weapons platoons. And, lest we forget, the MAGA is very strong among local law enforcement, who have been encouraged from the top of our politics to let their vicious cop Id run free. And what you get is what allegedly happened in Mississippi. Read More The 16 Best Sneakers for Getting Dressed Up Everything from minimal suede slip-ons to all-black leather high-tops. Read More The 14 Comfiest Chairs for Lounging All Over the Place Whether it's for reading, watching TV, or just escaping into silence. Read More Kid Cudi Is Letting It All Go The last time Kid Cudi spoke with Esquire, he had just found the path to self-love. That was a little over a year ago. Today, the rapper-slash-artist-slash-designer's debut campaign with Calvin Klein came out. In it, he's confident and sexy, sometimes lounging on red bed sheets, sometimes half-underwater. He's standing tall, shirtless in black-and-white photos, hands on his hips, looking the camera head-on with a glint in his eye that says, don't fuck with me; I know what I'm doing. "I think when I did that interview, I was at a place in my life where I was just beginning a new chapter," Kid Cudi says. Oh, the difference a year can make. Read More Follow Us Unsubscribe | Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection esquire.com ©2023 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019