First impressions aren’t always accurate. Taron Egerton admitted that he and Rocketman costar Richard Madden got off to a rough start when they met on the movie set.
“I thought he didn’t like me, actually,” Egerton, 29, told BuzzFeed in an interview published on Friday, May 31. “He came on set and he was in his trailer. And me and Jamie Bell went over to say hello to him. Yeah, I think I was just a bit paranoid and insecure.”
However, the Kingsman: The Secret Service star quickly got over his insecurities and became close with the Game of Thrones alum, 32. “Now we’re really, really, really good friends. I think the world of him. I think he’s a great actor and I think he’s a great person.”
Egerton stars as Sir Elton John in the new biopic about the singer-songwriter’s life, Rocketman, which hit theaters on Friday. Madden, for his part, plays John’s former manager and lover, John Reid, in the film.
The Rocketman cast and crew put in a lot of hard work to tell the “Candle in the Wind” crooner’s life story accurately on the big screen. Egerton revealed at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival that he and his longtime girlfriend, Emily Thomas, briefly lived with John, 72, and his husband, David Furnish, to prepare for the role.
“David and Elton allowed me into their lives and my girlfriend and I went to stay with them for a few days just before we started filming,” Egerton said earlier this month. “We got quite drunk one night at theirs and their head of security caught me stealing from his kitchen at 3 [o’clock] in the morning.”
The Billionaire Boys Club actor added, “But you know, that element of it has been invaluable because he’s allowed me to get to know him away from all of the pomp and ceremony of his life, I suppose. And to be able to get under the skin in that way has really, really, really helped.”
Now, Egerton explained, he and the “Tiny Dancer” singer are great pals. The Smoke alum noted, “I’ve gotten to know him and I’m very proud to call him a friend and he is the kindest, most interested, warm man and that has made it feel very important to me.”
