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Welsh actor (born 1989) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Taron Egerton (/ˈɛdʒərtən/ EJ-ər-tən;[1] born 10 November 1989) is a Welsh actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he performed in stage plays. Egerton gained recognition for his starring role as a spy in the action comedy films Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).
Taron Egerton | |
|---|---|
Egerton in 2019 | |
| Born | 10 November 1989 Birkenhead, England |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Awards | Full list |
Egerton has also starred in several biographical films, portraying military officer Edward Brittain in the drama Testament of Youth (2014), the titular ski-jumper in the sports film Eddie the Eagle (2016), and singer Elton John in the musical Rocketman (2019). The last of these earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He has since starred as Jimmy Keene in the miniseries Black Bird (2022), for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, and as Henk Rogers in the biopic Tetris (2023).
Egerton was born in Birkenhead on 10 November 1989.[2][3] His mother worked in social services, while his father ran a bed-and-breakfast near Liverpool;[4] both of them are Liverpool natives.[5] He has two younger half-sisters.[4] Although born in England, Egerton considers himself to be Welsh "through and through" and is fluent in both Welsh and English.[6][7]
Egerton's parents divorced when he was two, and he subsequently moved with his mother to the Welsh island of Anglesey, where he went to primary school.[3][5] The family then relocated to Aberystwyth when he was 12 years old.[3] He became lonely due to losing childhood friends.[8] He began acting at age 15,[9] which he later explained was "as much about trying to be social and make friends as it was an interest in acting".[8] He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from which he graduated in 2012.[9]
Egerton performed in a stage production of the play The Last of the Haussmans at the National Theatre in London in 2012.[10] After appearing in the crime drama series Lewis, he was cast as the lead role in Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service, an action comedy film adaptation of the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, in 2013.[5][11] He portrayed British Army officer Edward Brittain in the 2014 biographical drama film Testament of Youth, earning a nomination for Best British Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival.[12][13] Kingsman: The Secret Service was released in 2015, garnering highly favorable reviews that described it as "fun, stylish and subversive" as well as grossing over $400 million.[14][15] Writing for TheWrap, James Rocchi deemed Egerton to be "a naturally charismatic presence with smarts behind his smile" as Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, a recruit for an espionage organisation.[16] Egerton rose to fame with the role.[5] He starred in the crime film Legend that same year.[4]
At the 69th British Academy Film Awards in 2016, Egerton received a nomination for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.[17] In the same year, he played ski-jumper Eddie the Eagle in the eponymous biographical sports film and voiced Johnny, a passionate gorilla, in the animated musical film Sing.[5][18] Egerton reprised the role of Eggsy in the film Kingsman: The Golden Circle, a sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service, released the following year. It drew a mixed response from critics.[19] In 2018, he starred in the crime drama film Billionaire Boys Club and played the title character in the action-adventure film Robin Hood.[20][21] Both films were failures commercially and with critics.[8] Egerton later specified that Robin Hood was not the film he had signed up to create and that it had "lost its vision."[21] He attributed his involvement in Billionaire Boys Club and Robin Hood to monetary reasons.[8]
Egerton starred as singer Elton John in the biographical musical film Rocketman. He learned to play the piano for the part and sang live in each take during filming.[9] The film was released in 2019, receiving positive reviews, and the actor's portrayal of John earned praise.[22][23] The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday opined that Egerton "exerts a steadying, singularly charismatic force" in the role, while Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair described his portrayal as "nuanced and emotionally intelligent while still loose, carried with verve and agility".[24][25] Egerton won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance.[26] He also garnered a British Academy Film Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for his work on the film's soundtrack.[27][28][29] That same year, Egerton narrated the audiobook version of John's autobiography, Me, and the two performed on stage together several times.[30][31]
Also in 2019, Egerton voiced Moomintroll in the animated series Moominvalley and Rian in the fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.[32][33] He reprised the role of Johnny in Sing 2, which released in 2021.[34] Egerton starred in the play Cock by Mike Bartlett. Directed by Marianne Elliott and held at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End, the production marked his West End debut.[35] After missing performances due to fainting on stage during the first night of performances in March 2022 and testing positive for COVID-19 later that month, Egerton exited for "personal reasons" the following month.[36][37] The production of Cock garnered mixed critical reception, with Egerton's performance gaining praise.[38] The Guardian's Arifa Akbar wrote he "is especially affecting in his romantic desperation".[39]
Egerton executive produced and portrayed American drug dealer Jimmy Keene in the miniseries Black Bird, an adaptation of Keene's memoir In with the Devil. It premiered on Apple TV+ in 2022.[8] Reviewing the series, Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club wrote that Egerton "aces Jimmy's duality while switching from being overtly confident to silently breaking down".[40] He received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.[41] The following year, Egerton portrayed entrepreneur Henk Rogers in the biographical film Tetris, about the video game of the same name, which also released on Apple TV+.[42] Lovia Gyarke of The Hollywood Reporter commended him for playing Rogers with an "earnest goofiness".[43]
Egerton will next star in the Netflix thriller film Carry-On,[44] in the Apple TV+ miniseries Firebug,[45] and in the crime thriller film She Rides Shotgun.[46]
Egerton lives in West London.[4] He describes himself as having come from a working-class background.[47] Having lost a grandmother to motor neurone disease, he is an ambassador for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.[7][48] Following speculation about his sexuality, Egerton explained that it is "a joy to support" his gay friends, though he is not himself gay.[49] However, as a teenager, Egerton questioned whether he was gay and explained that he felt "very panicked and upset about how I would be perceived".[50]
Egerton was named one of the 50 best-dressed British men in 2015 and 2016 by British GQ.[51][52]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Testament of Youth | Edward Brittain | [12] | |
| 2015 | Kingsman: The Secret Service | Gary "Eggsy" Unwin | [5] | |
| Legend | Edward "Mad Teddy" Smith | [4] | ||
| 2016 | Eddie the Eagle | Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards | [5] | |
| Sing | Johnny | Voice role | [18] | |
| 2017 | TBT to That Time Archer Met Kingsman | Gary "Eggsy" Unwin | Short film; voice role | [53] |
| Kingsman: The Golden Circle | [19] | |||
| 2018 | Billionaire Boys Club | Dean Karny | [20] | |
| Robin Hood | Robin Hood | [21] | ||
| 2019 | Rocketman | Elton John | [28] | |
| 2021 | Sing 2 | Johnny | Voice role | [34] |
| 2023 | Tetris | Henk Rogers | Also executive producer | [42] |
| 2024 | Carry-On | Ethan Kopek | Post-production | [44] |
| TBA | She Rides Shotgun | Nate | Filming | [54] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Lewis | Liam Jay | 2 episodes | [11] |
| 2014 | The Smoke | Dennis "Asbo" Severs | [13] | |
| 2018 | Watership Down | El-Ahrairah | Miniseries; voice role | [55] |
| 2019 | The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance | Rian | Voice role | [33] |
| 2019–2020 | Moominvalley | Moomintroll | Voice role | [32] |
| 2022 | Black Bird | Jimmy Keene | Miniseries; also executive producer | [8] |
| TBA | Firebug | TBA | Upcoming miniseries; also executive producer | [56] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Last of the Haussmans | Danny | Royal National Theatre | [10] |
| 2013 | No Quarter | Tommy | Royal Court Theatre | [57] |
| 2022 | Cock | M | Ambassadors Theatre | [38] |
| Year | Song | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "The Breach" | Lazy Habits | [58] |
| 2019 | "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" | Elton John, Taron Egerton | [59] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Me | Narrator | Audiobook | [30] |
| 2020 | The Sandman | John Constantine | Audio series | [60] |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [61] |
AUS [62] |
AUT [63] |
CAN [64][65] |
FRA [66] |
GER [67] |
NLD [68][69] |
NOR [70] |
NZ [71] |
US [72] | ||||||||||||||||
| Rocketman (with Elton John) |
|
5 | 6 | 38 | — | 55 | 67 | 81 | — | 9 | 4 |
| |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Thrill Me" | 2016 | Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Hugh Jackman | Fly (Songs Inspired by the Film Eddie the Eagle) |
| "The Way I Feel Inside" | None | Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| "I'm Still Standing" | |||
| "Let's Go Crazy" | 2022 | Tori Kelly, Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll | Sing 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| "Where the Streets Have No Name" | Tori Kelly, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll | ||
| "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" | Tori Kelly | ||
| "A Sky Full of Stars" | None | ||
| "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" | Keke Palmer, Tori Kelly, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson |
Egerton won a Golden Globe Award for his role in Rocketman.[26] He has also garnered a Grammy Award nomination for his work on its soundtrack.[28] He has been nominated by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.[17][27]
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