Paris — Aaron Taylor-Johnson doesn’t do anything by halves. Having just been appointed as the new ambassador for Aquadi His Gio, he worked deep into the campaign for his men’s fragrance.
“It was great to film, trying to tell the Acqua di Gio man of today,” he says, adding, “This story of a man standing on the precipice of change. Although there are definitely some iconic jumps and dives… , for this sequence, I trained to do this dive, which was essentially a stunt. It was a 16-foot dive off a cliff.”
“Acqua di Gio embodies a way of understanding masculinity: free, sensitive and adventurous,” Giorgio Armani said in a statement. “These are all traits that Aaron expresses with his presence and physicality.
“This balance between mind and body convinced me that he was the right person to represent this fragrance,” the designer continued. “Aaron has a self-awareness and a strength and beauty that represents today.”
Taylor-Johnson described Giorgio Armani as “one of the most iconic and influential designers of this century, a man who epitomizes elegance and sophistication.”
Launched in 1996, Acqua Di Giò has ranked among the top three men’s perfumes in the world for the past 25 years, according to Circana, formerly known as NPD Group. Armani Beauty is licensed by L’Oréal. On Tuesday, the brand’s global president, Véronique Gauthier, resigned from the position after 13 years.
“It is truly an honor and privilege to represent the brand’s fragrances,” said Taylor-Johnson.
Choosing to dive himself, he had two intensive four-hour sessions with a stunt coordinator and an Olympic diver a week before the campaign shoot to learn how to properly swan dive. Simply running and jumping was first proposed as an advertisement.
“I said, ‘I really need more freedom,'” the actor explained. “‘We need to feel like this character is determined to take a leap of faith into the unknown.'”
Then he emerges from the sea, refreshed, and embarks on a new journey. “Because I feel that’s the power of this fragrance,” Taylor-Johnson explained. “When I get out of the shower and put on the fragrance, I can feel the salty air and the mineral notes. I feel like I’m starting the day fresh, with new intentions, with new purpose.”
He enjoyed collaborating with director Yohann Lemoine and the Armani team on Acqua di Gio’s long-standing story about the connection between humans and nature.
“That’s how I get inspired and recharge,” Taylor-Johnson says, adding that nature keeps her grounded and makes her feel “the best version of herself.”
“It was important to do that stunt because it breaks boundaries and is unconventional for me,” he said. “In a way, that’s how I approach the role. You can’t do anything by halves.”
For “The Outlaw King,” Taylor-Johnson trained for three months to ride horses before heading out to the Scottish Highlands. “We were acting out battle scenes with one hand on horseback and swinging swords above our heads.”
He trained for the fight scenes in “Kraven the Hunter,” which is scheduled to be released this year.
“Who wouldn’t want to learn something like that?” Taylor-Johnson said. “You can also push yourself.”
He has an affinity for the characters embodied in the Acqua di Giò campaign. “It feels so true. You feel the authenticity of this person,” Taylor-Johnson said, adding that the scent’s refillable, sustainable packaging is also in keeping with the fragrance’s ethos.
Taylor-Johnson takes bold steps in real life, too. “I’m the first person on holiday to feel like, ‘There’s a cliff, I want to jump off of it.’ That’s my fun, adventurous, fun, and slightly dangerous side.”
Other upcoming films include The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. “It’s going to be a great family action comedy love story,” he said. “It’s really fun for everyone and a real laugh.”
Taylor-Johnson described “Kraven” as an R-rated action comic book movie and called the upcoming “Nosferatu” a “very artistic, dark vampire movie.”
Other projects are planned for later this year, but Taylor-Johnson remained mum on details.
He said there are so many layers to building a character as an actor. “And fragrance can definitely be used as a mask or costume,” Taylor-Johnson said. “The scent has the effect of just transporting you, so I use it that way.”
However, the scent itself cannot be seen on the screen. “But it’s part of your aura, your persona, how you enter a room, how you leave a room, because your scent can be very lingering,” he says. said. “So your presence still looms large in that space.”
“It evokes so many things: emotions, memories, attachment to specific moments and people. Scent becomes an identity,” Taylor-Johnson said. “You can associate a person with a particular smell, and it becomes who they are. It’s unique and different and works differently on other people’s skin. That’s the magic of scent. It is.”