Ā In the gleefully cartoonishĀ Kingsman: The Secret Service, Taron Egerton gets to Ā live out every young lad’s fantasy, as his character goesĀ from listless street tough Ā to dashing super-spy in less than two hours (with some help from Colin Firth’s spymaster). In real life, the 25-year-old Wales nativeĀ gets to live out his own fantasy, after parlaying an earlyĀ careerĀ that balanced theater with roles in British television into that of a budding movie star. We spoke with Egerton recently at the tail-end of grueling press tour about adjusting to the showbiz grind, acting alongside Firth, and what his friends think of his sudden success.
How are you?
Iām goodāthis is my last interview of whatās been a long and exhausting press tour. Iām quite relieved.Iām honored. How are you enjoying New York City?
Itās so lovely. If I could live anywhere else in the world it would probably be here. The thing that strikes me about it I guess is the hustle and bustle. Everyone has so much personality here. Itās full of lots of rich characters. Iām not sure if Iāll ever live here but I absolutely relish the opportunity to do a play for a while or something.Are you based out of London?
Well, London is where I spend the vast majority of my time for work but I donāt actually live there. I live in my hometown in Wales, which is about five hours from London.Are you planning on sticking around your hometown for a while?
I think my intention is that when Iām working Iāll live in London, so Iāll need a place there as well, Ā but Iām not in a position to do that at the moment. I like being near family and I like to be near friends and I donāt think Iāve taken to this whole kind of crazy showbiz thing.You got to work with Colin Firth for this film. What was your main takeaway?
Actually, heās just a true professional, a real master of what he does. Heās great. Heās a good person to act with, and I think keeping engaged with one another is what makes a really good scene. And I wasnāt just working with himāI was obviously working with Matthew Vaughn, whoās incredible. But working with Colin is probably the heart of what Iāve loved most about the experience.
One thing that I found interesting about the movie is that your character and Sophie Cooksonās character donāt develop a romance. Instead, they they develop a platonic friendship, which is rare in a movie like this. Why do you think that is?
I think itās a very male-dominated film and I think Matthew, on one hand, wanted to have a strong female lead who wasnāt just a romantic interest for my part. It certainly is one of the more endearing aspects of the film. And the fact that heās not just interested in Roxy for her stunning good looks kind of makes him a more appealing character.I heard that your body went through a pretty intense transformation for this role. Can you tell me what you had to do and some of the things you had to give up to get in shape?
Yeah, well I lost a lot of fat and put on a lot of muscle. I think I got down to about five to six percent body fat and maybe 88 kilos, which is quite lean and muscle-dense. Itās not something Iāve done before and itās not something Iād do now. Frankly, itās a massive, massive lifestyle choice. Iād relish the opportunity to do it again but I enjoy my food far too much to be able to maintain that constant shape.How long after that until your body gets back to the way it was?
Oh, so quick. Disgustingly quick. Heartbreakingly quick. Within a month I was back to my old self.How have you been adjusting to live in the show business machine?
I think itās always a bit funny when people shun it. Iām a part of the world, Iām not shunning it. I really enjoy it, the glitz and the glamour of it. Then I like to go home and be a normal person as well. I think Iād miss it if it wasnāt there, but I donāt love it so much that I just want to occupy that world.This is your first major promotional tour for a film. How has that experience been?
I have to say that the hotel rooms are a brilliant thing and it can be a bit lonely sometimes, but when youāve got a full mini bar and a wonderful staff that you can call, thatās a great experience. You get lovely food and people make sure youāre very, very well looked after. Thatās absolutely delightful, but there comes a point where you kind of want to go home and cook for yourself and be around friends and family.What do your friends back home think of all this?
They are brilliantly unfazed by it. It never changes, frankly. I think theyāre very proud and they have moments where they go, āMy God, this is weird, isnāt it?ā I have a big group of pals and weāre all very close and I think sometimes they worry because I disappear for weeks and they donāt know what country Iām in. I think they occasionally send me little messages to make sure Iām okay, because it is a kind of detached existence.And you have a project coming up with Hugh Jackman and one with Tom Hardyāis that right?
Yeah, the Tom Hardy one is filmed and the Hugh Jackman one Iām about to start filming. The Tom Hardy one is basically about, in the 1960s, there were two notorious twins who were gangstersāthe Kray twinsāand they ran London for a time.Iām guessing thatās an incredible performance, right?
Tomāyes, heās amazing. He plays two twins and theyāre both very different. People are going to be quite shocked, actually. Itās going to be quite special. The technologyāthere are some wonderful examples of doubling like that. The Social Network is the one that comes to mind with the Winklevosses. I canāt imagine how much better the technologyās gotten in the past six years, or whatever. I think Tom is such a recognizable face, but heās such a chameleon, and they did it very clever with the makeup to make him different yet recognizable. Itās really, really fun and Iāve got a nice little part in it as well.
Ā Source: nylon.com