The Verge: Aaron Johnson

Nowhere Boy shows Lennon pulled in two different directions by his free-spirited mother Julia and his strict aunt Mimi. It's clear what artistic inclinations he got from Julia, but what traits do you think he took from Mimi?

A lot of what people know of Lennon is that in the Beatles, he was this kinda uptight, arrogant guy, kind of cocky, quick-witted and quite clever. Yoko told Sam to be careful with Mimi, not to demonize her or to make her someone that she's not. Lennon really, truly loved her and called her every day or every week.

It's interesting that the women in Lennon's life have so often been demonized.

They're very strong women. What he took from Mimi, I believe, was a sense of being strong and keeping his barriers up. Like you see in the scene in the film where Uncle George dies, and John is very upset and hurt and goes to Mimi for a hug, and she brushes him off and says, "Don't cry. Let's get on with it." It's like, "Put your guard up. Don't go to those dark places." She brought him up to be well-mannered and strict, but in love, she was about protection. He became very attached to his mother, and when she died, he had to go back to what Mimi taught him, to put the f***ing barriers up.

That's what the Beatles became. Much later on, when he's with Yoko and he's fallen in love, there's this Rolling Stone interview where he speaks about that -- it's one of the sources I used a lot to listen to his accent when preparing for the role. He says the whole Beatles were a front, that he never felt comfortable and that often he'd be off f***ing women and that he never fell in love. It all sort of ties in, you know? The moment that he met Yoko, it was like his mother coming back into him. He could sort of blossom and become a free spirit -- that's what she taught him. Yoko then influenced his music, which he took to the Beatles and added this mad visionary poetry that Mimi had taught him. I mean, these are two really strong women that really made who he became, and I think we express all that in the film.

By the way, congratulations on the film's BAFTA nominations.

It's excellent! It's been such a short time. We've only really just now got the film out, and Sam's up for Best Debut and we're up for Best Film, which is excellent.

Of course, part of being a rising star is that you're now touted for all sorts of roles. For example, they're looking to cast someone your age in the new Spider-Man reboot.

Really?

Is that something you'd be interested in, or are you like, "Well, we sort of satirize superheroes in Kick-Ass, so..."

Yeah, I know, I already play a superhero in that. I dunno, I don't think I could jump into Spider-Man's shoes -- or Tobey Maguire's. I had an amazing time with Kick-Ass, though.

It sounds like they're gearing up for a sequel already, even though the first film hasn't come out yet.

Wouldn't that be interesting? We'll see how it pans out. I think people are really going to enjoy it -- it'll have a really mixed audience. It'll be exciting to see.

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