Aaron Taylor-Johnson was expecting a much more lavish wrap gift than the one he was given by Kraven the Hunter co-star Russell Crowe.
In a recent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Taylor-Johnson, who plays the titular antihero in the forthcoming movie, revealed he had his eye on a $500,000 Patek Philippe watch that Crowe hinted he would give him.
After Crowe gave wrap presents to their fellow actors in the film, Taylor-Johnson’s hopes were high. However, when the time came, Crowe gave him something far less expensive as a parting gift: a handshake.
The 34-year-old revealed he thought Crowe might give him the wristwatch after he made a point of talking with him about it.
Taylor-Johnson said that one day on set, Crowe showed him the timepiece while in character as Nikolai Kravinoff, the father of Taylor-Johnson’s character Sergei Kravinoff.
Crowe said to Taylor-Johnson in a thick Russian accent: “Come to me, son. Come. Sit next to me. Look at this watch.” Taylor-Johnson told Kimmel: “I was like, ‘Whoa! That’s an incredible prop.’ He went, ‘No, this not prop. This real thing.’”
After being told the watch was worth half a million dollars, Taylor-Johnson tried his luck. He quoted the Patek Philippe slogan to Crowe: “They say, Papa, you never really own a Patek Phillipe, you merely look after it for the next generation.’”
His quick wit seemed to go down well but, when the time came, Taylor-Johnson was left feeling somewhat disappointed – especially considering Crowe gave a gift to the child actors playing the younger version of Sergei and his brother, Dimitri.
“Young Sergei, he’s given him a wedge of cash, like over a grand’s worth of cash – changed this kid’s life. And the other kid, Dimitri, he loves him, he’s clearly got a soft spot for this kid because he’s into music and obviously Russell loves his music, so he gives him an electric guitar, like a Les Paul, and so I think, ‘OK, so the bar’s pretty high at this point.’”
“He comes over to me and he puts out his hand and I instantly notice there’s no watch. I’m like, ‘Okay, here we go, and he goes, ‘It was really great working with you, mate.’” Before shaking Taylor-Johnson’s hand.
When asked about the watch, Crowe said “It’s on loan. I have to send it – it’s half a million dollars!”
Despite not receiving a wrap gift, Taylor-Johnson said Crowe was his “idol” and a “really good dude”.
Kraven the Hunter is in cinemas on Friday (13 December).
