When stars align
Taron Egerton :
“Well, the mandate was always that this wouldn’t be a straight outand-out biopic; that it would lead into elements of fantasy.
The movie begins with Elton entering rehab. For me personally, that was what I found exciting, because I think that someone who’s so universally known, to see them in such an intimate, vulnerable situation is quite unusual. What happens (in the movie) is that Elton recounts his life through rehab, and we learn his story from being a young child and going to the Royal Academy of Music, all the way up to the point where he has to go to rehab. And this (the fact we show that) says something about Elton and how candid and resilient he is.”
“Yeah, it’s terrifying. And because this is a musical and because it’s a fantasy, it was always a prerequisite that the actors sing. We were lucky in the sense that Elton and David (Furnish) were very close to the project. And Elton has been fantastic, frankly, in letting me be a part of his life for the past couple of years and befriending me, which has made the whole thing feel very personal and very real.”
“It couldn’t be more polaropposite for me. We know Bernie’s lyrics, but I think a lot of people would be hard pushed to identify him in a photograph or pick out his voice from an audio recording, so it’s a totally different level of responsibility. For me, there was (even) an element of invention. Taron didn’t have that luxury.”
“One of the unique things about Elton is that he doesn’t write lyrics — he confesses himself that it’s not his strong suit. And Elton is quite an unusual animal because he’s changed so much over his life. He started out as someone quite shy, naive and innocent. He’s told me some stories about himself as a young man that kind of defied belief knowing him because he’s no shrinking violet now.
And one of the big catalysts for change in Elton’s life was his relationship with Bernie. The first time I asked him about his relationship with Bernie, Elton said: ‘Aside from what happened creatively, he’s the brother I never had.’ I think they kind of fell in love a little bit, as creative partners. He com
Egerton:
Jamie Bell:
Egerton: