Who is Taron Egerton?

Taron Egerton is a Welsh actor and singer, known for his roles in the television series The Smoke, the 2014 action comedy film Kingsman: The Secret Service, and the film Rocketman (2019). He has also played Edward Brittain in the 2014 drama film Testament of Youth, appeared in the 2015 crime thriller film Legend, starred as Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards in the 2016 biographical film Eddie the Eagle, voiced Johnny in the 2016 animated musical film Sing, and reprised his role in the 2017 Kingsman sequel, The Golden Circle.

Egerton moved to Aberystwyth, also in Wales, when he was twelve. Egerton considers himself to be Welsh "through and through," and is conversant in the Welsh language, albeit admitting that his Welsh is not as good as it previously was. He attended Ysgol Penglais School before he went on to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he graduated with a BA (Hons) Acting in 2012.

Egerton made his acting debut in 2011 with a small role in two episodes of the ITV series Lewis as Liam Jay. Later, he was added to the main cast of the Sky1 series The Smoke. Egerton played Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, the young protégé of Harry Hart (Colin Firth), in Matthew Vaughn's film Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The first movie's success launched Egerton into fame and resulted in him signing a three-movie contract with 20th Century Fox.

Egerton co-starred in Testament of Youth, based on the life of Vera Brittain, and appeared in the two-part episode "The Ramblin' Boy" in the seventh series of Lewis as Liam Jay. In 2015, it was announced that Egerton would be starring in Billionaire Boys Club. He was named one of GQ's 50 best-dressed British men in 2015 and 2016. In 2018, Egerton was picked to play Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman.

Trivia

  • Auditioned for Scott Summers/Cyclops in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), but turned the role down.
  • Named one of GQ's 50 best-dressed British men in 2015.
  • Having grown up in Welsh-speaking areas, Anglesey and Ceredigion, Taron has acquired a good knowledge of conversational Welsh and had a 'Welshoff' with Luke Evans on the Jonathan Ross show.
  • Fell in love with acting as a teen after performing in his first production, A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which he played Flute, the cross-dressing Mechanical.
  • Is an RADA-trained actor who graduated with a BA (Hons) Acting in 2012.