“I’ve never poured so much of myself into something.
I’ve never felt so devoted to something over such a protracted period of time.”
“I’ve never felt so passionate about somethingand so protective,” he says.
I don’t think my heart would flutter.
But Elton John is also an extraordinarily outspoken celebrity, especially about the tough stuff.
He has been candid for decades about his addictions and his commitment to getting and staying sober.
“We see him in some fairly compromising scenarios.
But to be honest, it just never happened.”
That left Egerton able to focus on the distinctunrealityof how the story was told.
It’s not quite our Elton.
It’s not quite the music that you exactly know.
It’s re-imagined."
Egerton strived to hit notes along that same liminal spectrum.
“It’s not intended to be a carbon copy performance of who Elton is.
“My voice gets deeper over the course of the film, and my accent changes.
It goes from being quite London to quite transatlantic by the end of it.
But for me, those are the easy things.
I don’t feel like those are the things that are the most interesting or taxing.
“And it seems to heighten peoples' response to and affection for him.”
But still, “There isn’t one moment in the film where I’m miming.
It’s going to be compromised by all of the paraphernalia of filmmaking.
And mainly I just watched what happened to that movie feeling intensely proud for my friend Dexter.”
With an R ratingand a studio willing to stick to that creative decisionRocketmanskipped opening in China entirely.
It’s a combination of the Welsh word for flower and a reference to his love of RV camping.
“I think that’s how you know he really likes you,” Egerton says proudly.
But he’s quick to reject the idea that he might put out an album of his own.
But it’s not going to be something that happens anytime soon.
I want to be a good actor first.”
Listen to the full interview with Egerton onThe Awardist podcast.
