Taron Egerton is the young man from Wales who’s taking over Hollywood. After low key roles in British TV shows, he landed the lead role of Eggsy in the Matthew Vaughan directed comic book spy caper, Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Eggsy is a bad boy with a good heart, lost in a life of petty crime. He is thrust into training for the elusive Kingsmen—a clandestine group of modern day gentleman knights, protecting the world from dark forces that lurk behind closed doors. At Eggsy’s shoulder and watching his back is Kingsman Harry Hart, played by Colin Firth. Harry is engaged in trying to stop Samuel L.Jackson’s lisping, snapback-donning villain, Valentine, erasing most of the world’s population in a bid to rid Earth of the ‘virus’ of humanity.
We met up with Taron in the Savile Row tailors Huntsman, who served as the inspiration for the Kingsmen’s headquarters in the film. He proved himself happy to talk about the impeccable outfits on show, his bromance with Colin Firth, and why he’s not cut out for violence in real life…
1.
You went to [premier English acting school] RADA. How did your training there prepare you for Kingsman: The Secret Service?
The stage combat we did there was very much geared towards camera, and it was really fun. Saying that, I’m not sure it prepared me so well for the fighting in Kingsman because that was so extreme. But it was certainly a good grounding.
Did you draw on any of your own fighting experience for the role?
Um, no! I’ve had two fights in my life. Both times I threw one punch, and both times I broke my hand! I really am a stranger to the world of fighting.
A guy that looks like he can handle himself is [co-star] Mark Strong.
Mark is cool. He’s a very cool guy.
Are you jealous that he came one place above you in GQ’s Best Dressed Man list? [Taron came 11th, Mark 10th.]
Well, now that I know about this he, I am! Saying that, he deserves that because I rock around in scruffy jogging buttons and scruffy boots most of the time. I think I scrub up okay, which is possibly while I was on that list. But Mark is always well dressed. Some people have just got it; I wish I was one of them.
'I’ve had two fights in my life. Both times I threw one punch, and both times I broke my hand! '
Obviously we are surrounded by beautiful clothes today, and there was lots of super smart clothes and accessories in the film. Did you get to keep any of the gear?
I wore a Kingsman suit for the film premiere, and I have that, but I don’t have the one from the film. It wouldn’t look quite as good on as it did then anyway, my arms are smaller and my waist is bigger now!
It’s a shame you couldn’t keep one of the Bremont watches, they are beautiful.
Well I did get one of them. I’m not actually wearing it today though it is one of my most prized possessions. I was scared of losing it!
Suits also play a big part in your upcoming film, Legend [a biopic of notorious gangster the Krays, starring Tom Hardy].
Yes, there are fantastic suits in that. They’re more ’60s suits, different cut, not as fitted. Very cool though, tweedier.
Co-star Tom Hardy plays two parts in the film, portraying both of the Krays twins. Do two Tom Hardys look as good as one Tom Hardy?
Yes! If you’re a fan of Tom Hardy then it’s gonna be a great film. It’s twice as much Tom as you already ordered. Two Toms for the price of one…it’s going to be easy to market…
You had some amazing guys with you on Kingsman: The Secret Service…Colin Firth, Samuel L.Jackson, Michael Caine…it seems like you and Colin had a bit of a connections.
I’ve gushed quite a lot about Colin. It was my first film, and I had quite a lot of nerves and trepidation about it. He took me under his wing, really, made me feel very relaxed, and comfortable.
There’s also the aspect of the two of you both going through the action film training for the first time.
Absolutely, Learning those fights, doing that gym time, it was as new to him as it was to me. We were both able to lean on each other a bit, compare bruises and war wounds.
'The fantastic thing about the characters of kingsman is they are so coloUrful'
Did you train together?
No, they scheduled Colin’s for the afternoon to make it that little bit easier! I’d be the one in there from 7.30 in the morning, but we would pass each other in the corridor. I’d cruel out sweaty and red, messy hair, and Colin would walk in composed, pick up his umbrella and start twirling it about!
How many hours were you training?
Before the shoot I was doing three or four hours a day. This was a mix of gym time and fight choreography. When we were shooting I’d spend an hour in the gym, just to stay fit, and weekends I would often come in and do three or four hours of fight choreography.
Now you’ve stopped doing that exercise at that level. Have you found yourself yearning to go back?
Well, you feel incredible when you’re in training and really looking after yourself, but it’s a real lifestyle choice. I mean, you can’t really eat anything good if you want to stay that trim!
Did you have a ‘first night back’ binge?
Well I can’t remember exactly was it was but I imagine it involved lots of lagers.
If there was a Kingsman sequel, what do you like to next happen to Eggsy?
The fantastic thing about the characters is they are so colorful; like [evil henchwoman] Gazelle with her leg blades. I’d love to see some equally outlandish characters. if we did another Kingsman, that is…
What about a love interest? Who would be your choice?
I don’t know, I couldn’t possibly say. Roxy [co-star Sophie Cookson] is there waiting in the wings, but who knows?
