Aaron Taylor-Johnson addresses his large age gap with wife Sam

Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson has opened up about his family life and his wife Sam, with who he has a large age gap, after a decade of marriage.

Taylor-Johnson had a lot of young teens crushing on him when he popped up in the 2008 movie Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, so naturally he left many heartbroken when it emerged that he'd met a new partner just one year after the film's release.

Paramount Pictures

Unlike Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' romance, which fans could just about get on board with after accepting they were a couple through High School Musical, Taylor-Johnson's romance took people by surprise.

It emerged that he'd struck up a relationship with the director of his 2009 film Nowhere Boy, in which he played a teenage John Lennon.

The flick was Sam's directorial debut, and at the time she was 42 years old, while Taylor-Johnson was 18. Their relationship, with its 23-year age gap, quickly sparked criticism from some, but the pair ignored the trolls and continued their romance before tying the knot in 2012.

They've also welcomed two children together; Wylda, 13 and Romy, 11.

Now 33, Taylor-Johnson made clear that his relationship with Sam isn't solely rooted in their creative partnership.

Rosdiana Ciaravolo / Stringer

Discussing how they got together, he noted that he and Sam were 'really great at collaborating' when he met her as an actor and director, but said that's 'not why [he] fell in love with her'.

The actor discussed their relationship in an interview with Esquire, though he indicated he didn't want to go into too much detail.

"I’m trying to be as honest as possible. I've probably talked to you more about my kids and Sam than I have with anybody," Taylor-Johnson said. "I've got really nothing to hide, and I'm secure in what we have. But I'm not going to unlock things that are actually precious to me."

Now a decade into their marriage, the Bullet Train star went on to say he enjoys the simple elements of family life.

"I enjoy the normality of things, the everyday stuff," he said. "Getting my kids ready in the mornings, taking them to school and activities... That feeds my soul."

Sony Pictures

Even before meeting Sam, the actor said he knew he was 'going to have a big family'.

"I knew I was going to be a young father. I knew I was going to have many kids," he admitted.

Taylor-Johnson made clear that his kids come first for him, so much so that he decided not to pursue roles in 'big, huge franchises' when his children came along.

“I wanted, purely, to be with my babies,” he explained. “I didn’t want to be taken away from them. I battled with what that would be like."

As well as the two children the couple share, Sam also has two daughters of her own, Angelica, 26, and Jessie, 17, who she shares with ex-husband Jay Jopling.