



Taron Egerton stands a lean, muscular five foot eight inches tall and he has the type of cheeky grin that will let him get away with murder. At the age of just twenty-four, since coming out of RADA, Egerton has two television series under his belt and three big-budget filmsĀ The Rise of the Krays,Ā Testament of YouthĀ (which saw him nominated for Best Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival Awards)Ā and Kingsman: The Secret Service,Ā an upcoming British action film adapted from Dave Gibbons and Mark Millarās comic bookĀ The Secret Service,Ā which sees Taron co-lead with the nationās most-loved actor, quintessential English gentleman, Colin Firth.
Meeting Taron is a pleasant reversal of expectations. Not that I thought he was going to mirror the east London juvenile delinquent heās playing inĀ Kingsman: The Secret ServiceĀ IRL, but you know, itās always hard to pre-empt the situation. āBrooke meet Taron,ā his publicists voice rang through the room. I had just stuffed my mouth with half a tube of Smarties, so it wasnāt the way I envisioned myself meeting a guy whoās sure to be listed in GQās hot one hundred in a matter of months, but we continue all the same.
Ā Despite hailing from Aberystwyth, Taron doesnāt have the guttural Welsh accent I was expecting, heās actually very well spoken. In conversation he frequently lets out a sonorous laugh that instantly makes you warm to him, whether heās talking about his childhood (āI was cheeky in school, but rarely in a way that would get me in trouble. I thought I was a bad boy but I most definitely wasnāt!ā), working alongside Samuel L Jackson (āHe is officially the coolest man on the planet, isnāt he?ā) or talking about his pastimes (āI donāt really have any cool or interesting hobbies ā I wish I was that interesting.ā) Thatās another thing I note about Taron, heās awfully modest.
Judging by his recent success, it may come as a surprise that Taron was a latecomer to the realm of performance. āI was always pretty arty when I was younger, I liked drawing and stuff, but I didnāt start acting until my mid-teens,ā says Taron. āI joined the Youth Theatre and realised how much I liked it.ā But starting late has by no means stopped him. Since leaving RADA in 2012 Taron has been fully immersed in his art. Starting with a play at the National Theatre, Taronās first television role in ITV detective dramaĀ LewisĀ came next, followed by a part in āNo Quarterā at the Royal Court Theatre and another in Sky1ās firefighting drama,Ā The Smoke.
In the midst of this whirlwind of events, Taron found himself auditioning for the lead role in a film directed by the mastermind behindĀ Snatch, Layer CakeĀ andĀ Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. None other than Matthew Vaughn (whose wife Claudia Schiffer offered to make Taron a sandwich at their country residence). Vaughn took a chance on the then unknown actor and after watching the first three scenes of the film, itās easy to see why he did. āHe called me one morning and just said: āLook I think weāre about to offer you this partā. But I think it took him quite a lot to convince the other people who had money in the film, he really fought my corner,ā says Taron modestly. āMatthew is a bit of a genius in my eyes. Thereās no crap with him and he says exactly what he thinks when he thinks it. Being the sensitive little daisy I am, it took me a while to get used to that, but when you get to know him you realise heās actually got the biggest heart in the world. Heās done so much for me and not just in terms ofĀ Kingsman.ā
The film sees Taron play troublesome youth Gary āEggsyā Unwin, who Firthās character, secret agent Harry Heart, owes a debt too. By giving Eggsy the chance to compete for a place in the Kingsman Academy, in turn keeping him off the street, they get even so to speak. So what was it like working with Firth? āHeās just an absolute dreamboat ā heās lovely and he was really good to me,ā says Taron. āHe went the extra mile to make sure I was happy and he treated me like an equal, which is ridiculous because heās an Oscar-winning actor and Iād never made a film before.ā But it wasnāt plain sailing for Colin either withĀ KingsmanĀ being his first foray into action. And as Taron puts it, itās serious. āHeās so badass in it. Youāve never seen him like this before. We had loads of fight training and gym time, to ensure we looked like spies. We had a lot of time to get to know each other and I really hope that chemistry shows on-screen.ā
Their odd coupling and dysfunctional father-son type relationship is precedent throughout, whilst the underlying themes of class tension, power struggle and self-belief also simmer on the surface. āColinās character always reiterates that being a gentleman has absolutely nothing to do with where youāre from or how you speak, itās to do with how you act,ā says Taron.Ā āSo thereās the whole rags to riches underdog story and the mantra ā āIt doesnāt matter where you come from, or how hard it is, you can do anythingāā. A sentiment that proved true for Taron on many levels. āEvery single one of those shots is 100% Egerton,ā laughs Taron. āIād never done any sort of scuba-diving before so my natural reaction when Iām underwater is to just freak out and take a huge lungful of water. It took a while for the whole mind over matter Zen thing to kick in.ā
With such hard-hitting action stunts, I canāt help but ask if there were any notable behind the scenes mishaps, but Taron tells me there are none heās allowed to talk about. Of course, a little probing can work miracles.Ā āI canāt believe Iām about to tell you this,ā he smirks. āI remember landing this massive jump I do at one point and my trousers basically exploded open as soon as I landed on the floor, in a scene filled with about three-hundred extras. I had to run out of the room covering my dignity. Iām supposed to seem all cool when Iām definitely not.ā Well Taron, you had us fooled.
Source:Ā wonderlandmagazine.com