Breaking out into the Hollywood scene is not an easy job to do. It takes hard work, passion, and time. Actor Taron Egerton is no stranger to this. Due to his most recent rolls on the big screen, Egerton is what we would consider to be a breakout actor.
Egerton comes from a very small town in Wales, known as Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. He grew up as the son of a bed-and-breakfast owner and a social worker, but soon became a star for himself. Egerton found a love for the theatre after his first performance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as he played the roles of Flute and cross-dressing Mechanical. He continued his schooling and love for the theatre as he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2012 with a B.A. in Acting.
Egerton’s acting debut can be seen from his small roles in the 2011 ITV series Lewis and the Sky1 series The Smoke. One of his breakout roles in the Hollywood scene, however, was in 2014 for his role as Gary “Eggsy” Unwin alongside Colin Firth in the Matthew Vaughn hit Kingsman: The Secret Service, which resulted in a three-movie contract with 20th Century Fox. Also in 2014, Egerton co-starred in Testament of Youth, a movie based on Vera Brittain’s life during the First World War, as Edward Brittain. In this movie, Egerton starred alongside Alicia Vikander and Kit Harington as they shared the story Brittain’s journey. Since then, Egerton has been crushing the acting scene, and is only growing.
Then, 2015 rolled around and Egerton found himself in the crime thriller of Legend alongside Tom Hardy. One of Egerton’s most acclaimed films, however, came in 2016. Egerton portrayed the role of Eddie the Eagle in Eddie the Eagle. Alongside Hugh Jackman, who played Bronson Peary, Eddie’s trainor, Egerton portrayed the life of Olympic ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, who is known for his “skillful” ski-jumping in 1988 as the first ski-jumper to represent Great Britain since the 1928 Olympics. Also in 2016, Egerton voiced the character of Johnny in the Illumination hit Sing. This was one of the first singing gigs for Egerton, and was only just the beginning of them.
As he continued his contract with 20th Century Fox, Egerton reprised one of his most well known roles as Eggsy in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The third movie to finish the Kingsman trilogy has not been set or confirmed a date, however, a prequel, The King’s Man, is due to hit theatres on February 14 of 2020.
Though all of these parts play significant roles in Egerton’s acting career, his most recent film gave Egerton the push he needed to be seen as the great and inspiring actor he is. This film is Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton himself as the one and only Elton John. As we look at Egerton’s past, it seems as if it was fate for him to play this role. Egerton’s audition song for drama school was none other than Your Song, by Elton John. Egerton gave an astonishing final performance of “I’m Still Standing” in Sing. And if that was not enough, John joined the cast of the Kingsman franchise in the sequel with short cameos throughout the movie. All of this seemed to have led Egerton to play this role that has changed his life forever, and many others as he inspires young actors and directors from across the world.
Marissa Gomez, an aspiring film director who is a big fan of Taron Egerton, says,
“He is a huge inspiration to me not just because he’s amazing at what he does, but because he’s incredibly humble while doing so.”
