Taron Egerton, who plays pop superstar Elton John in the upcoming musical fantasy biopic Rocketman, shares with Attitude Magazine there was a time he wondered if he might be gay.
“When I was 14 or 15, I had a period of thinking I might be gay and I spoke to my mother about it,” says the 29-year-old. “It was a part of a period in my life where my mind was figuring things out.”
There’s something many of us can relate to.
Blaming the confusion on teenage hormones, Egerton admits it’s a time when “you question everything.”
“It was a very real feeling to me, and I was very panicked and upset about how I would be perceived,” the Welsh actor told Attitude. “That is not the same as going through it for real, but there is some understanding of what it might be like, and I remember feeling that acutely.”
The Kingsman star admits it’s not the same thing as coping with coming out himself, but “I guess there is a small kernel of that which I have experienced.”
Additionally, he shares that his roommate and bestie in drama school came out to him during that time, and he had a first-hand view of how the coming out process can impact a person.
“I’ve had someone cry in my arms about the fact that they were so terrified and at a loss at what to do,” he says.
When you add all that up, it’s not surprising that Egerton recently told GQ UK that he “always felt more at home in a gay club than at a football match.”
Still, Egerton is sympathetic that he landed a plum role that many gay actors would have relished.
“I completely understand why a gay actor would feel that this is an opportunity for which they would be better suited,” he acknowledged. “The way I feel about it is Elton asked me to play in a movie about his life. I am proud and privileged to be playing this person who happens to be gay.”
He also guarantees the film will not be ‘straight-washed,’ as many alleged the recent Bohemian Rhapsody hedged on the sexuality of Freddie Mercury.
“I would not have played this character if I didn’t think we could make a film the gay community would watch and feel a sense of ownership of,” he promises.
Check out Egerton’s full interview in Attitude’s June issue.
And check out more from his photo shoot below.
