The three actors Taron Egerton called the best of his generation: “I don’t mind saying”
He might have risen to fame over a decade ago, but Taron Egerton still feels like a fresh name.
The Welsh performer has proven he can do pretty much anything – from young superspies to influential video game businessmen to hapless ski jumpers, his filmography is as varied as it is impressive, and he’s set to appear in a future project called Everybody Wants to Fuck Me, which should only add further spice to his CV.
The star, who was supposedly in the running for James Bond until he personally quashed the rumours, is part of a very strong cohort of similarly aged British actors starring alongside Richard Madden and Jamie Bell in Rocketman, both of whom are just a few years older than him.
Billionaire Boys Club cast him alongside some colleagues from across the pond, including Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, and Ansel Elgort, but when it comes to the stars he’s most interested in, you have to look outside of his filmography.
Speaking with the International Business Times, Egerton acknowledged how grateful he was for all the opportunities he’d been presented with. However, he felt like there was still work to be done, saying, “I feel like in the past couple of years, I’ve been so lucky to work with these big established stars, but there’s lots of really cool younger actors who I’m big fans of that I’d love to work with.”
He added, “Will Poulter, Jack O’Connell, Adam Driver… people like that. Amazing, young actors who are really establishing themselves in the world of filmmaking… I absolutely do want to make that kind of film.”
Not to be rude, but the obvious outlier in that group is Adam Driver, because first of all, he’s American, while the other two are English, and he’s also the oldest of the bunch by some distance; he’s seven years older than O’Connell and has a full decade on Poulter. Crucially, he’s also several years older than Egerton. It speaks volumes to his talent that he’s still considered a “younger” actor by somebody who was born after him. Now that’s aura.
Though Egerton has never shared the screen with either of his three faves, he did almost take one of their jobs. “I don’t mind saying that I auditioned for [Poulter’s] part as well and he deserved to get it,” he confessed, referring to the role of Jim Bridger in The Revenant. A real-life frontiersman and trapper, Bridger becomes involved with Hugh Glass’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) expeditions in the frozen tundras. The film was a huge hit, notable for delivering Leo his long-awaited Oscar and would have been a huge coup for Egerton, but it might have gotten in the way of filming Kingsmen, which is what ultimately put him on the map.
All three men still have plenty of gas left in the tank, so Egerton is bound to get his dream crossover at some point, and maybe one of them will get cast in Everybody Wants to Fuck Me, only time will tell.
