He's married to a woman 23 years his senior and has seen his career go from strength to strength, with three huge film appearances this year alone. Now British actor Aaron Taylor Johnson, 33, is understood to have been formally offered the chance to play the next James Bond after months of speculation about the role. The star, who has been acting since childhood, had his big breakthrough performance in 2009 as John Lennon in the biopic Nowhere Boy, directed by Sam Taylor Johnson, 57, who Aaron married in 2012.

The couple, who share four children together, have a remarkably large age difference, with Aaron being just 22 when he wed Sam in Somerset, England, who was 45 at the time. Aaron has been nominated for two BAFTAs and previously won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes for Nocturnal Animals. He is yet to officially accept the Bond role, but should he do so he will become only the seventh actor to play the iconic British secret agent since the franchise launched in 1962.

In his early years, Aaron appeared in films including Shanghai Knights in 2003, The Illusionist in 2006, and was the male heart throb in teenage rom-com Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging in 2008, when the actor was 18. He is perhaps best known for his role of the title character in superhero movie Kick-Ass, premiered in 2010, and its 2013 sequel. He has since seen his career go from strength to strength, with three major film appearances coming up this year.

Aaron will be starring as a famous action star who goes missing in The Fall Guy, opposite Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt . And will also appear in the hotly anticipated remake of 1922 gothic horror Nosferatu, directed by Robert Eggers and featuring a star-studded cast, including Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult , Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe. But Aaron's biggest upcoming role will see him rejoin the superhero world, as he will be playing the titular role in Kraven the Hunter, the fifth film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. The star's name has been in the running for Bond for a while now, alongside fellow A-list contenders like Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill and recent Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy.

In October last year, the Mail exclusively revealed that Aaron was the 'one to beat' to take the iconic role, while Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan was looking likely to helm the next film in the franchise. Aaron was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, to his mother Sarah and civil engineer father Robert Johnson. He began acting at the age of six, appearing in a London production of Shakespeare's Macbeth, playing the son of Macduff alongside Rufus Sewell, who played Macbeth, in 1999. His love-life has largely revolved around his wife Sam, who he met aged 18 when she was 42. The couple met when Aaron sat down with the director to discuss his interest in playing young John Lennon in her pre-Beatles film Nowhere Boy.

Before he bagged the role, Aaron thought a few factors might stand in the way of Sam picking him for the part. 'I couldn't sing, I couldn't play guitar, and I couldn't do a Liverpool accent,' he told Vogue . He added that he was so desperate to play the part that he tried to inhabit Lennon's voice and mannerisms. 'I'd go on YouTube and search for early footage of Lennon, to hear his voice, try to copy and see his mannerisms and body language,' said Aaron. Aaron became a father at the age of 20 to Sam's third daughter, Wylda Rae. 'Sam's this lovely, loving woman, you know,' Aaron told Vogue. Aaron and Sam share matching tattoos - Aaron with a large 'Sam' inked across his heart next to a bird and Sam with a slightly smaller 'Aaron' written around her collarbone.

In March 2023, Aaron was said to have completed a screen test at Pinewood Studios with Bond boss Barbara and impressed her. According to the Mail On Sunday, Barbara made it clear she wanted the next actor to portray the character for 15 years. Outside of acting, Aaron's personal life has generated much public interest, due to the large age gap between him and his wife. Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam also has two older daughters - Angelica, 26, and Jessie, 17, with her ex-husband Jay Jopling. Their relationship has caused controversy, as the couple met while filming Nowhere Boy in 2009, which Sam directed, when Aaron was 18 and she was 42, going on to welcome their first daughter Wylda the following year.

Sam previously spoke about falling for Aaron on the set, but insisted nothing happened until the movie wrapped. She said: 'I managed to hold off really until almost the end of the film. We weren't even together then. Maybe feelings were there but un-acted upon. 'The thing is, we had quite a psychic link when working together. I knew from a flicker of an eyelash what kind of performance I was going to get. I felt that link almost from day one of meeting him.' 

The news about Aaron's offer to play the world's most famous spy comes after fans cast their votes to who they wanted in the role. A study of 2,000 Brits by Lottoland, saw Idris come out on top, with some unconventional choices thrown into the mix, like Emilia Clarke, James Norton, Emily Blunt and Helen Mirren. Bond is famed for turning those who play 007 into global superstars and the franchise isn't shy of casting left-field stars to take on the role. Pictured: Bond star Daniel Craig.

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