‘Kingsman’ breakout star Taron Egerton on snagging the role of a lifetime
— -- Taron Egerton has the looks. He has the charm. And now with two big movies under his belt, he's also got the star power. Egerton's newest film, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," hits theaters today. It's the follow-up to the 2015 action-thriller, "Kingsman," with Egerton playing the role of Eggsy, a super-spy.
Egerton, whose newfound fame is the stuff dreams are made of, talked about his road to stardom on "Popcorn With Peter Travers."
"I was auditioning for Eggsy probably 12 months out of drama school," Egerton said. "And there was a very long and sort of strenuous audition process that involved kind of running around with guns and doing dramatic scenes."
Egerton said there was a specific moment during the beginning of the audition process when he knew he had a real shot at the part.
"Kingsman" director Matthew Vaughn "doesn’t mince his words. He’s kind of quite straight," Egerton, 27, told Travers.
"I remember my first audition for him. He kind of came in and looked like he had a lot on his mind. He sat down and didn’t look at me. I did the scene, and he was still looking down. And I sort of went, 'Are we done?' And he looked up and went, 'What was your name again?' And that was the first moment where I thought I might be in with a shot here."
"That was the first of very many auditions," Egerton said. "He really put me through my paces."
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In the first film, Egerton's character is recruited to become a spy. He saves the world from an evil villain played by Samuel L. Jackson. Along with Jackson, Colin Firth, Pedro Pascal, Jeff Bridges and Channing Tatum add to the film's star power.
In the new movie, Egerton's character is out saving the world again when suddenly disaster strikes.
"He’s this street kid, yes," Egerton said of his character. "He kind of has this incredible skill set. He’s very resourceful. He’s a sort of army dropout. He’s very physically fit and strong and capable. It’s a wonder I was ever cast," he joked.
Egerton added that his character "has such swagger."
"He kind of fancies himself a little bit," the actor said. "And he’s got a great heart. And he’s very brave. He’s very noble. But he’s also got real swagger. You kind of have to get yourself into that head space to play the part. There’s nothing meek about him."
“Kingman: The Golden Circle” hits theaters everywhere today.
Be sure to watch the full interview with Peter Travers and Taron Egerton in the video above.
