Taron Egerton has a big birthday this weekend and it turns out he’s got a lot to celebrate. Whether playing a street-savvy spy or a British Olympic folk hero, he’s always found a way to tease his true acting chops in studio fare (granted, he was a regular on the National Theater stage right out of university). This past summer he was finally able to show what incredible range he has portraying Elton John in Dexter Fletcher’s somehow forgotten smash “Rocketman.” What’s next as he hits the big 3-0?
Well, we’ll get to it.
In the meantime, the Wales native is currently in the middle of a second go-around of press that is commonplace for awards contenders that released before the fall festivals. Paramount Pictures’ goal is to remind guild and AMPAS members of why “Rocketman” earned critical kudos and impressive box office just five months ago.
READ MORE: Taron Egerton anchors the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” [Review]
“I mean, I think it’s been such a wonderful thing in my professional life to make this movie that it’s never really felt like labor in discussing it or promoting it,” Egerton says. “The people who are involved in making it, Elton included, have become real friends, and actually I feel quite lucky to have the opportunity to continue the ride a little bit, really. So I’m really happy. It’s great.”
Like Fletcher, Egerton attended the Governors Awards last month, an event that allows contenders to work a room packed with fellow Academy members and it appears he might have one prominent AMPAS member already in his corner. He notes, “I really wanted to meet Tom Hanks, but I didn’t get the chance. He and I have been emailing and looking forward to some time. He reached out after he saw ‘Rocketman.'”
The music icon and Egerton became friends through the experience and have performed together at Cannes and at a special “Rocketman” screening at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Lee Hall’s screenplay played with the timeline of John’s life to make the structure work a bit more dramatic but kept in John’s tempestuous nature, philandering and, most notably, drug use. In many ways, that aspect of the production gave Egerton more freedom from impressing the icon than you’d expect.
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“I think he knew what the script was and he knew that it had a fairly warts and all approach to his life,” Egerton says. “So in that sense, I didn’t feel like I needed to worry about him being precious or wanting to sanitize some of the more difficult moments, because he really owns his demons I think. Ultimately, I feel serving the script and the film is what is probably going to make him most happy. That’s what I have to believe. I think had I worried about what he would think too much, it probably would have conditioned the performance in a negative way, because I felt very early on that what was exciting about the project is that it’s very candid.”
Fletcher will gladly tell you how difficult it is to make a musical. Especially one where only the subject matter’s catalog can tell the story. But for Egerton, it was lip-synching underwater that was the true test of his abilities (and patience).
“Singing underwater is impossible,” Egerton says. “It’s one of the early bits in the film where I’m miming, but I’m 20 meters down during that sequence and lying on my back. And if you ever try lying on your back underwater it’s not easy to do because just a slightly wrong angle and all the water rushes up your nose and you can’t swim to the surface because you’re too deep. So, it’s quite a precarious difficult thing to do, but I relished those challenges. I like those technical challenges.”
The Wales native says he’ll “probably wait a beat” before starring in another musical, but he does love to sing so if it’s an interesting character he’d be down. He also isn’t against returning to the recording booth to voice Rain for a potential second season of Netflix’s “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” Although Egerton makes it clear he has no idea if that’s actually in the cards.
“I did probably about 80 hours of recording for it, but I was very excited by it because the original movie is one of my favorite films and it really captured my imagination as a child,” Egerton says. “It’s one of the only things I’ve ever signed on and said I would do before actually reading the script because I just thought, ‘What an exciting thing to be a part of.’ I think Jim Henson‘s legacy is a pretty amazing thing and to be part of that in some way is just such an exciting opportunity for me. And I also love Louis [Letterier], who directed it.”
Oh, and that “what’s next” question. Well…
“I think there is probably a strong chance that we’ll do another ‘Kingsman’ film next year but other than that I’m taking a little break,” Egerton says. “‘Rocketman’ was a wonderful thing in my life, and I’m getting to a point where I’ll be excited to do something else, but I feel like I’m waiting for something quite specific in terms of opportunity and character and, hopefully, that will come along soon. But for the time being, I’m chilling out. I’m just hanging out.”
Enjoy it while you can Taron.
“Rocketman” is available for digital download.
