Taron Egerton said it’s “surreal” to have Sir Elton John in his life after playing the singer in a forthcoming biopic.
The actor said he hung out with Sir Elton before filming began on “fantasy musical” Rocketman. The singer gave him a diamond earring for good luck and the pair became firm friends.
Egerton, star of the Kingsman films, said: “I still speak to him once or twice a week now. He’s very in my life. It’s nice … and a bit f****** surreal.”
He said the film chose to tell Sir Elton’s story in a “less conventional way”, which allowed him to alter the star’s character slightly.
In an interview with Man About Town magazine, he said: “I think when your primary objective is sounding like someone, then you slightly sacrifice a purity of expression and a real humanity.
“It can become a little bit sterile … And I absolutely didn’t want to do that because this is about illuminating someone’s life.
“Me running around like a lunatic and dancing as if my life depended on it in this kind of wild, anarchic way is not necessarily something we’ve seen Elton John do before. But that’s fun. We get that little more licence.”
Rocketman follows Sir Elton’s rise to stardom in the Seventies and partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin, played by Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell.
The actors were captured together in a shoot for Man About Town by photographer Brooklyn Beckham, Sir Elton’s godson.
The magazine is available to buy from manabouttown.tv
