Aaron Taylor-Johnson: The Wall is so distressing I wouldn’t let my children see it

The actor said they would find it too tough to watch their father suffering on screen
Family man: Aaron Taylor-Johnson with his wife Sam
Dave Benett
Alistair Foster31 July 2017
The Weekender

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British star Aaron Taylor-Johnson has revealed that his latest war movie is so distressing he may never let his children see it.

The 27-year-old spent time training with US military personnel to prepare for his role as a sniper’s spotter in The Wall. It sees him play a beleaguered soldier who is pinned down by a crack-shot Iraqi.

Particularly disturbing scenes see him dressing a wound to his knee as he is tormented by the enemy sniper over his radio earpiece.

The actor has two daughters with director wife Sam Taylor-Johnson — Wylda, six, and five-year-old Romy. He told the Standard: “There are some things that you never want to show your family and it is probably too distressing for them to see their father suffering so much on screen.

Spotter: Aaron Taylor-Johnson in The Wall 

“Maybe they will discover it on their own one day when they’re older, but I obviously know that some of my work is a little too much for children.”

The movie is unique as it is the first ever “spec script” to be commissioned by Amazon, and was shot on a shoe-string budget of $3 million. A spec script is a story that has not been commissioned by a studio and is usually an unsolicited piece written by an unknown writer.

The Wall was directed by Doug Liman, whose CV includes The Bourne Identity, Mr & Mrs Smith and Jumper, and also stars WWE wrestler John Cena.

Taylor-Johnson added: “I prepared by spending months with marines and former war veterans, and I did some military training in Arkansas.

“We have shown the film to lots of ex-military personnel and they have praised it for its accuracy. John plays his character perfectly.”

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