The Red Bulletin June 2019

Taron Egerton
that he is one of the most amazing people I have ever
met. At the forefront of my mind was that I wanted
everyone to fall in love with him all over again.
Was this a nerve-racking role to take on?
I felt it was a part that I could do. There is some
crossover between his personality and mine; I don’t
think I am quite as extreme as Elton, but I do feel
that there are extremes of feeling and emotion in me.
I am someone who is quite ‘heart on the sleeve’, and
I know I can be a very big personality, but I’m also
someone who can be quite vulnerable. I feel that’s
who Elton is as well. Don’t get me wrong, I was
hugely intimidated and scared and I felt a huge
amount of pressure, but I had quite an inherent sense
that it was a part that I could or should play.
How was your relationship with
Elton John while making the film?
I know that for the sake of promotion
I’m required to say we have become
good friends, but we really have.
I really love him and I felt quite lucky
to be let into his life. It meant that
the experience of making the film
felt important, not just in the sense
of the legacy of Elton John, but
because I care about him as a man.
He’s a really beautiful person.
Tantrums, tiaras and Taron: Egerton as Elton John in new biopic Rocketman
Is it true he gave you access to his diaries?
Yes, he let me read his diaries when I went to stay at
his house. He has diaries from 1971 to 1976 that he
thought were lost, and he only reacquired them a few
years ago. They were great and really informative.
One entry that has stuck in my mind is: “Woke up
this morning – went to the laundry – wrote a song
called Honky Cat.” Then the next day it would be
something equally iconic.
The film doesn’t shy away from portraying Elton
John’s problems. Can you understand how
someone who is successful in showbusiness gets
involved with drugs?
Yes. It’s everywhere. There is no escaping from it
in the entertainment industry, and you have a lot
of very expressive, emotional, vulnerable people.
Singers, actors, artists… we all feel the need to
convey something about our experience of the world.
That means you expose yourself. It can be quite
intense and you feel like there is a spotlight on you.
Also, this is fucking Elton John. He was Elton John at
23 and he has been Elton John for the past 50 years.
He has been one of the most famous people alive for
decades. The pressure that comes with that, as well
as the allure of incredibly glitzy, seemingly perfect
party experiences? I can totally understand.
Do you ever feel that kind of
pressure in the public eye?
When I leave these junket days, I’ll
go back to my flat and I can’t sit still.
I have to walk around, I have to call
people, I have to do stuff. Because
although this feels like a conversation,
I’m actually performing. I’m trying to
be genuine and create a true version
of myself, but I am still attempting
to convey that version through the
quality of performance. It’s really hard
to come down from that. When I have
troubles in my life, I call my mum. She
is rational, sane, functional, normal,
and she has wisdom to impart. I don’t
know that Elton had that with his
mother and other people in his life.
How do you protect yourself from the problems
that Elton John went through?
I am not Elton John and I don’t know if he did protect
himself very well. He got very involved in that
lifestyle and ended up going to rehab, where he
saved himself. That’s what our film is about. It’s
about Elton John saving himself.
Rocketman is in cinemas nationwide from May 24;
paramount.com/movies/rocketman
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30 THE RED BULLETIN