Aaron Taylor-Johnson Says He's Worked on Marvel Films Where Actors' 'Suits Are Padded': 'Arms, Butts — Everything!'
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12/23/2024 11:36 AM
"I've seen some crazy pads," the 'Kraven the Hunter' actor said in an interview with 'Capital' earlier this month
Cindy Ord/Getty
Aaron Taylor-Johnson in New York City on Dec. 10, 2024Aaron Taylor-Johnson is "dishing some dirt" about big-screen superhero bulk.
In a recent interview with Capital surrounding his new superhero movie Kraven the Hunter, the 34-year-old actor said he has "worked on some Marvel films" in the past where "those suits are padded."
"Arms, everything. Butts. I've seen some crazy pads. I'm not saying who," he said, coyly answering only, "Maybe!" when asked if the padding extended to the "front" of costumes.
Taylor-Johnson, who previously appeared as Pietro Maximoff in Marvel Studios' Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron(2015), confirmed that he himself put on about 40 lbs. of muscle to play the titular role in Kraven the Hunter, which involved an intense diet.
"Eating was definitely one of the main ingredients for that one. But not ice cream — healthy stuff," he said, adding, "The costume was my arms. That was the problem."
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From director J.C. Chandor, Kraven the Hunter, based on the Marvel Comics character, also stars Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott and Russell Crowe.
During the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles back in October, DeBose was asked her thoughts on then-new Kraven the Hunter photos showing off Taylor-Johnson's muscles.
"Oh, yeah. Those are real. I had the privilege of looking at those," the Oscar winner, 33, playfully told Variety when shown one of the pictures.
"I think he might've been hungry. But, they're beautiful," she said. "I appreciate the male form just like many, many humans on the planet. He is a spectacular human; a beautiful and so sweet. He's much more than his abs, you know?"
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Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kraven the Hunter (2024)"And, quite frankly, he's a very good actor. Incredible actor. I was very, very proud to work with him," DeBose added to Variety.
While appearing on the Dec. 20 episode of Brittany Broski's YouTube show Royal Court, Taylor-Johnson poked fun at his intense commitment to the roles he plays as he jokingly teased, "We've barely scratched the surface."
In terms of how he typically preps for a role, the actor detailed, "It really kinda depends," adding, "I kind of enjoy, like, finding habits, like, good and bad habits of that character, and sort of living in that routine and pattern … or listening to certain music that would be associated with that era of time."
"It's multiple things, because, you're also, like, changing facial hair or your hair or what your clothes are or what you're wearing, so that — eventually — it becomes second nature, and ideally you're already in that character when you step on set," Taylor-Johnson added.
Kraven the Hunter is in theaters now.
