Aaron Taylor-Johnson likes to push the boundaries in his films, especially when it comes to stunts. His main role in Kraven the Hunter was no different.

Taylor-Johnson plays anti-hero Sergei Kravinoff (aka Kraven), the son of a corrupt Russian crime boss (played by Russell Crowe), who sets out on a path of revenge to become the world’s most feared hunter. The character was created in 1964 as the main villain of Spider-Man in the Marvel Comics and is like the Poison franchise is part of Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man universe and not the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The cinema release is on December 13th.

Taylor-Johnson trained as a dancer in his youth and told Yahoo Entertainment that he enjoyed bringing “that physicality and that movement” to the role of Kraven.

“(The stunt team was like, ‘No, no, no, no, you really shouldn’t, you’re actually not allowed to do that,” he said. “I think it’s just because I love action movies and I grew up watching action movies Rocky To Die Hard even Russell Crowe gladiator.”

This isn’t the first time Taylor-Johnson has wanted to delve into a role.

“I also just felt like sometimes you feel so in love with the character that you just want to do her justice in any way you can,” he explained. “It’s the same when I played (John) Lennon Nowhere boy. I learned to play guitar and sing.”

For director JC Chandor, keeping his star in one piece while giving audiences the action sequences they craved was a priority.

“Aaron is capable. I mean, he’s a physical, physically gifted guy and he can do almost anything if you give him the chance,” he told Yahoo. “But if he breaks his leg, of course our production will be in trouble. So we absolutely had to hold him back.”

Taylor-Johnson didn’t just want to give it his all when it came to stunts. He also learned Russian for his role as a comic book villain.

“Actually, that was harder than anything else,” he said. “It was kind of awesome that we got to do that.”

Although the narrative focuses on a Marvel character, Taylor-Johnson said Chandor removed that “fake feel” to tell a “gangster story” rooted in reality.

“We shot the action on location, and it’s these Russian gangsters, and I’m like, ‘I feel like we just have to somehow (integrate) that and just speak Russian in these sequences,'” the actor said. “And he was like, ‘Okay, yeah, let’s do it.'”

Chandon said filming on location was “kind of a gift.”

“We shot the film, a lot of it here in the UK, and there were a lot of films being made here at the time…” And so there were no studios available,” the director explained.

“We had a lot of fun going out and finding all these places and basically taking photos. And that’s just something I’ve always tried to do,” he continued. “I don’t want to say it’s laziness, but for me it’s just easier. For the actors, for me as a director, as a cameraman, that’s where you have your playground.”

Taylor-Johnson is no stranger to the Marvel playground. He played the role of Pietro Maximoff (aka Quicksilver) in Captain America: The Winter Soldier And Avengers: Age of Ultron. Although Quicksilver and Kraven are very different, the actor said he felt a “responsibility” to put the research into his newest character and his origin story.

“The experience I’ve had going from one studio film to another, or when you’re immersed in the Marvel world, or when you really just take on the responsibility of a character with this kind of weight and this kind of influence in the Marvel community and the fan base you have a responsibility and an obligation to do your research and I really take that to heart,” he said.

“I put a lot of time into this character, getting into his shoes and giving him the physicality and all those things,” he added, “so that you just learn that you have a duty and a responsibility to do your job to the best of your ability “are allowed to do.”

Kraven the Hunter hits theaters on December 13th.