Kingsman: TheĀ Secret ServiceĀ co-stars Colin Firth and his 25-year-old Welsh co-star Taron Egerton hold forth on their new spy film and the state of the British man in 2015āI call this the established actor pose,ā quips Colin Firth draping himself over an armchair in Claridges, to the delight and amusement of ShortListās photographer. āOh God, the pressureās on me now to say something absolutely hilarious,ā laughs 25-year-old Taron Egerton, Firthās co-star in the forthcoming Kingsman: The Secret Service and a young man on the cusp of announcing himself as one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood.As youāll almost certainly know, Kingsman is the new action-spy film directed by British auteur and comic-book fan Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake, X-Men: First Class). Expect a genre-busting mash-up of James Bond, Austin Powers and The Ipcress File, as a dapper gentleman spy (Firth) trains a council estate tearaway (Egerton) in the art of old-school British espionage.Hence ShortList is about to question the Oscar-winner and his young Welsh co-star (Egerton is pretty much fresh out of drama school) to find out what they’ve learned from each other, and what defines British gentlemen in 2015ā¦THE BRITISH MAN
Who is the British man you admire the most? Who transcends generations and possesses the qualities that every man should aspire to?C: Michael Caine. Heās a masterclass in not being precious. Someone asked him what the secret to being a film star is, and he said, āI donāt blink.ā OK, he might have been being a bit arch, but thereās something to be gleaned from everything he says.T: I have to say, my one-on-one scene with him [in Kingsman] is one of my favourite scenes in the film. Iām really proud of it. In between takes I asked him about specific films from my childhood, and while Iām aware that The Muppet Christmas Carol is not the pinnacle of Michael Caineās career, for meĀ it has such a place in my heart.C: Itās a brilliant version of A Christmas Carol.T: [Laughs] Me, my mum and little sister still watch it every year. Heās the most warm, approachable guy.Chivalry and fair play are internationally recognised hallmarks of a British man. Are they still relevant today?C: There are constant backlashes and counter-backlashes, driven by newspaper articles along the lines of āWhere have all the real men gone?āT: But you can bet your life that if you took a girl on a first date and you didnāt offer to pay the bill, they wouldnāt be best pleased!C: [Laughs] Iām married to an Italian woman, and in Italy youāre still supposed to enter a restaurant or public space first.T: What, so you donāt open the door for her?C: No, the presumption ā historically ā being that if thereās any danger youāre first in the firing line, so to speak. Itās actually rude to usher a woman in first.STYLE
Kingsman sees a veteran gentleman spy take a young protĆ©gĆ© under his wing, starting with a trip to a Savile Row tailor. Is a sharp suit still important for a BritishĀ manĀ inĀ 2015?T: Iām naturally quite a scruffy bugger, so it was lovely to have a jaunt into the world of bespoke tailoring. To me, the reason men look good in suits is that it lends them a certain status; itās the equivalent of a suit of armour.C: And they solve a lot of problems. If you can get the suit right, and itās not doing something thatās going to look weird next year, it covers a multitude of sins.Is that why your wife calls you the āKing in Spanxā, Colin?C: [Laughs] Are they the ones that pull your gut in?T: Oh you do not have a gut!C: Er, I think it may be a reference to the tight costumes in The Kingās Speech andMamma Mia! Iāve been in some less-than-gentlemanly costumes over the yearsā¦Colin ā as a man whoās famous for wearing a bad Christmas jumper inBridget Jonesās Diary, do you have any style advice for Taronās generation?C: Well, it comes back to the same thing: one turn of the wheel and yesterdayās embarrassment is suddenly cool. And vice-versa. Thatās something every young man should remember…T: At 17 I did the whole straightened-hair-over-the-eye thing ā a bit like Justin Bieber, but not as good looking. That was my style low point.C: You have me at a terrible disadvantage here, because I grew up in the Seventies. Thank God there was no Facebook and that most of the evidence was destroyed shortly afterwards. As a Marc Bolan fan, I started growing my hair long in the late-Sixties. You had some leeway because there were government ministers and policemen with the big sideburns, you still had a generation of teachers saying, āGet your āair cut!ā Of course, by the time it had grown, it was exactly the moment that long hair became extremely unfashionable.DATING
The rules of courtship have changed dramatically over the past two decades. Do you think modern men are too reliant on the likes of Tinder?C: Iām curious about this, because my dating days pre-date technology. What is this thing called Tinder?T: So Tinder is an online dating app, you swipe right if you like someoneā¦C: So itās not considered the last resort of a lonely heart?T: No, itās forward-thinking, and a way for men who are not as confident to ask someone out.C: So Tinder is actually a nod back to the era of courtly love, when a man had to compose a song rather than just saying, āDo you fancy some?ā in the pub. I think using courtship skills ā the written word ā gives men a chance to formulate something that doesn’t depend on just spluttering face to face. Perhaps Tinder affords men the serenity to craft a decent overture?Is the concept of asking a girl out face-to-face alien to the Facebook generation?T: Actually, I have asked a girl out Kamikaze-style. I stopped her on the Tube and said, āI think youāre gorgeous, I think we should go for a drink some time.ā Itāsterrifying, but ultimately so much more rewarding.C: You reckless romantic. How did it go?T: Oh God, this is going to be printed… Er, I took half a day off drama school and we went on a date. But, as much as I could do with a bit of Tinder right now, itās always going to make a better story if you offer someone an umbrella in the rain. When kids ask their parents how they met in 10 years, the answer is going tobe, āI DMād yer mum on Twitter.ā Itās hardly the start of a romantic novel, is it?CAREERS
Colin, as an Oscar-winning actor at the top of his game, what career advice do you have for Taron?C: Taron is brilliant. Matthew [Vaughn] scoured the world and this is who he chose, and you can see why. Heās got a brilliant eye for casting, as weāve seen without exception in all his films. The fact that Taron has taken to it so naturally is really no surprise. In terms of acting, the truth is that itās probably still just as mysterious to those of us whoāve been doing it all these years. Why does it work sometimes and not others?T: Which is certainly more refreshing than someone making out that acting is this nebulous, mystical thing. Itās quite simple: you pretend to be someone else.You both knew that you wanted to be actors at a young age. Do you think young men with unconventional ambitions are taken more seriously now?T: I went to a fantastic secondary school and they were incredibly supportive. To say that they didnāt try to gently coax me out of it would be lying ā but nor did they damn it.C: My experience was quite the opposite: scorn was poured. My careers advisor had no faith in my prospects whatsoever. It was āLeave school at 16 and get a jobā. Luckily, my parents were very imaginative and supportive. Although I do remember my mother watching a film in black and white and pointing out lotsof people in the background and saying, āSee all those people? Theyāre all actors.ā It hit me that I was much more likely to be one of them than the one talking in the foreground.SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is now part of the fabric of life, whether itās tweeting about an amazing burger or tackling a project at work. Is it a good thing?C: Social media has immense power. Thereās a long conversation to be had ā and itās raging ā about the democratising opinion. There are some issues around its abuse. Trolling, for example.Nobody would troll Colin Firth, surely?T: No chance, heās universally adored!C: [Laughs] I think men are trying too hard to keep up with technology. Is it making us more connected? Or compromising the other connections that we need?Ā Everyoneās buried in this thing [gestures to phone].T: Iāve just got back on Twitter. I found it a bit intrusive in the past, but I have friends who are actors and musicians and itās nice to be able to highlight each otherās work in a positive way.C: Itās a dangerous thing, because whether youāre in the public eye or not, somebody, somewhere, is probably talking about you. It would drive you mad if you could hear it all. I donāt know that we have the constitution to face all the truth people are thinking. Would you eavesdrop behind a door on all the people talking about you? Because even people who like you would probably say things that wouldnāt please you to hear. So yes, there may be a storm on Twitter, butĀ you donāt have to live in the middle of it. Itās a controversial thing to say, but if you want privacy, the internetās not the place to find it.Much like leather trousers, is there an age beyond which men should avoid the word āLOLā?C: I do believe Iāve heard the word āLOLā a few times. Thereās a very funny thing in Modern Family when the guy goes, āOh Iām up with all the lingo. WTF: WhyThe Face?āT: [Laughs] The only thing you ever need to know about āLOLā, Colin, is that no oneās ever actually laughed out loud while writing it.THE VERDICT
In the film, thereās a scene where Colinās character tells his young prodigy that āBeing a gentleman is nothing to do with the circumstances of oneās birthā. Do you think thatās something we need to instil in the next generation of British men?C: Very often, what you see ā particularly on stage ā is just an illusion. Iāve got this reputation for playing men in suits and being rather buttoned up, but in fact Iām actually a secondary-modern boy. Out of my friends of my age, itās those who did go to public schools that still display their tattoos in their fifties, and are obsessed with playing guitars and riding motorbikes. They wouldnāt dream ofĀ dressing up to look like an establishment figure.T: Absolutely. Thereās a saying: āThe king doesnāt play the king ā the court plays the king.ā In other words, itās how everyone reacts around a man that truly defines him.
Ā Source:Ā shortlist.com