Casting a young actor capable of embodying Eggsy, unrefined but promising school dropout, and his journey from errant street boy to suave secret agent in "Kingsman: The Secret Service" was an enormous challenge.
With the film deep in pre-production and most of the other roles cast, director Matthew Vaughn was still trying to find his Eggsy after he chose Colin Firth, whose casting is a no-brainer for Vaughn.
More than 60 young actors were screen-tested before Vaughn met Taron Egerton, a 24-year-old actor from Aberystwyth, in Wales, and fresh out of drama school.
With no film credits to his name, Egerton was working on a television drama when his agent presented him with some "Kingsman: The Secret Service" script pages and told him to prepare for an audition the next day.
"I don't think I even knew the title of the film," recalls Egerton. "It was just a scene between two characters called Harry and Eggsy. But it was just such great writing and I was very excited about the opportunity."
Casting a young actor capable of embodying Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and his journey from errant street boy to suave secret agent was an enormous challenge.
At the audition, Vaughn told Egerton he'd like him to come back and read with Colin Firth. The young actor was unaware Firth had been cast as Harry.
"Within five minutes I also learned that Michael Caine was in the film, and my heart was beating so fast," Egerton recalls.
"Finding a talented young actor is hard," notes Vaughn. "And finding one that can carry a movie is even harder. Taron had never done a movie, but you get a feeling about someone. When Jennifer Lawrence came in to play Mystique [in Vaughn's X-Men: First Class] she was just 19, but as soon as you turned the camera on her you knew that she had something. It was the same with Taron."
Egerton described the process of shooting the film as "scary, but wonderful. What more can any young actor want? It really is a dream come true and I feel lucky to be one of the few people in the world who can genuinely say that."
"Eggsy is a tough role to pull off," notes Vaughn. "He is a street kid who becomes a gentleman. He must be credible at portraying both, while also being likeable, which isn't easy. But Taron's done it with real aplomb."
From Egerton's first meeting with Firth, the two actors bonded. "His talent is extraordinary," notes Egerton of his acclaimed co-star. "I'd have paid for the masterclass of working alongside him, let alone be paid for it. Colin is very kind, encouraging and reassuring, and always offering support and advice. I think it was a stroke of genius on Matthew's part to cast him."
Firth is equally complimentary about Egerton.
"I feel like I was the one who learned from Taron – about his spontaneity, sensibilities, reference points, use of language and energy. It was invigorating for me – and an immense gift – to stay connected with people at completely different ends of the generational spectrum. I had all that with this film," he says, referring also to Michael Caine, whom Vaughn cast as Arthur, the head Kingsman.
"Kingsman:The Secret Service" opens in Philippine cinemas starting February 18. Rated R-16.