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.
Meet Taron Egerton, Your Hottest New British Export
Written by Tiffany on February 13 2015
Meet Colin Firth’s New Right-Hand Man, Kingsman: The Secret Service Star Taron Egerton
Written by Tiffany on February 11 2015
Taron Egerton and Sophie Cookson Reveal “Before & After Secrets”
Written by Tiffany on February 05 2015
TARON Egerton and Sophie Cookson, breakout stars of Matthew (Kick Ass) Vaughnās gentleman spy send-up, Kingsman: The Secret Service, reveal some ābefore and afterā secrets.
Taron, you studied stage combat at RADA. Did that help prepare you for Kingsman: The Secret Service?
TE: You are talking rapier and dagger. Compared to Kingsman, itās small fry. The expectations for this film were so high that nothing could have prepared me, really. It was a total rehaul of the way I moved and felt. But if you are playing someone who has to save the world, you do have to have a bit of muscle tone, donāt you?
How did you go about that transformation?
TE: It was difficult to begin with. Dropping the fat, putting on muscle … all of that is really hard if you havenāt done it before. It gets easier. And ultimately itās very rewarding. But you do put yourself though a lot of pain to get yourself into that kind of shape.
What surprised you the most?
TE: Watching my body transform because itās not something I ever imagined it could do ā to completely change. Locked in a vault somewhere are some before and after photos. And they will never be seen by anyone.
Taron, the Variety critic was glowing about your performance in Kingsman, but he also described you as a compact, bulldog-like actor.
TE: With squinched up features I think it was.
I figured the review would already have been brought to your attention or I wouldnāt have mentioned it.
TE: Something like that is going to stick in your mind.
FAMOUS Q&A with Taron and Sophie
Written by Tiffany on February 03 2015
Taron Egerton and Sophie Cookson are the bright young talents starring in Kingsman: The Secret Service. The action-spy film sees them co-starring alongside Colin Firth, Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson — not bad for a couple of recent drama school graduates!
FAMOUS caught up with Taron and Sophie during their visit to Sydney.
How does it feel to work with award-winning actors so early on in your careers?
Taron: It’s all down hill from here mate! [Laughs]
Sophie: How do you up from there?
Taron: I guess everyone’s now becoming aware of the film with all the promotion, but we’ve had 18 months to process it. It’s surreal. We’re actors, you know, and of course we have all of that respect and admiration for them, but ultimately there comes a point where you have to just get down to it and make some movies.Were the cast what you expected them to be in real life and did they give you much advice?
Sophie: I didn’t really expect anything. I went in with complete open-minded because as soon as you start having any expectations of what it’s going to be like you are disappointed or it throws you off a bit. But they were just as nice as I hoped. Colin Firth is the gentleman you think he is. There was no lecturing or anything, it was all quite seamless.
Taron: Don’t fart in interviews, that kind of thing [laughs]. They were all very lovely. You expect to see the personas they present to the world, but then they also have their private personas. I guess we were able to see a little more of their private selves – everybody was as nice as I’d hoped.Are you both thrill seekers like your characters in the film?
Sophie: Oh, no no! If you asked me to jump out of a plane, I’d pay you any amount not to. I like being physical but not like that.
Taron: I’m not like that at all. I really enjoyed the experience of doing it but when I left drama school, I did not envisage action! But it was great fun and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Asos Magazine Feature: Oh Boy!
Written by Tiffany on January 29 2015
Lead roles with an Oscar winner, pep talks from Tom Hardyā¦ If you judge an actor by the company he keeps, then get ready to rave over Taron Egerton
FIT!ā āFiiiiiiiit!ā āOh my god, he issooo fit!ā A pause. āWho is he?ā Not that we objectify in the ASOS office, but if youāve seen the trailer for Kingsman: The Secret Service, youāll understand our reaction.
āHeā is Taron Egerton, 25-year-old star of Matthew āKick-Ass/X-Menā Vaughnās new spy movie, co-starring Oscar-winning Colin Firth. The film involved months of stunt training and got Taron a sandwich made by a supermodel [Vaughn is married to Claudia Schiffer].
If comic-book adaptation Kingsman didnāt pluck him from obscurity [he had been on Sky 1ās The Smoke and mum faveInspector Lewis], it did kick-start his career. His next movie is Legend with Tom Hardy, while last month saw the release of London Film Festival smash,Testament Of Youth.
