'Kingsman' Breakout Star Taron Egerton on the Gift He Gave Colin Firth

Usually when you start interviews, you talk with girls about shoes, but we're talking about shoes.

We are talking about shoes. Or my complete sort of lack of any knowledge about shoes.

Do you want to show your fancy footwork?

Absolutely not. No, I have no desire to show my fancy footwork.

Guys just aren't into that stuff, are they?

Not at all. No. Yeah. You just when girls say, "Do you like them?" just smile and nod.

Smile and nod. They're beautiful. Oh, they are absolutely gorgeous shoes today. That's good. Wait, I'm going to call you out for a second, cuz somebody told me about your famous wink. What's your what's your like signature wink that you have?

Oh, no. This is a thing because I wink quite a lot in Kingsmen with the Secret Service and I didn't realize until I saw the film.

So, you think it was a you didn't think it was involuntary?

No. No, it's planned. I just didn't realize quite how many times I do it in the film. No, it's not. Nobody said anything. Nobody said anything. I think it's because he's a sort of, you know, he's playing it's it's like sort of Roger Moore James Bond, isn't it? So, because I'm just trying to be this sort of charming kind of debonair cheeky chappy. Yeah. I think winking was one of the ways I tried to illustrate that.

I've never met a tailor before, but I know you ain't one. What do you see? I see a young man with potential. Pull the hook on your left. Oh, yes. Very nice. What does this do? Electrocute you. Don't be ridiculous. It's a hand grenade. Shut up. That is sick. This is like James Bond meets Kick-Ass.

It is. That's what it has been described as that. Yeah. You know, with what Matthew was trying to create with that film and that kind of nod of the head to that era of Bond. The Connery, Roger Moore sort of um, you know saving the world with a Martini in his left hand sort of thing. I think um Yeah. Roger Moore might have been a bit of a bit of a model for Yeah. For Eggs.

Roger Moore meets hip-hop.

Yes.

And you were talking about Matthew. I want to talk about his wife. Claudia. Claudia Schiffer. Supermodel for all those people out there that don't know. She made you a sandwich.

The first time I met her she I went to visit them in their house. I was very, very nervous and I think she very, very kindly was just sort of trying to look after me a little bit.

Now was this before you got the role? You were sort of meeting with him.

This was during the process of of meeting Matthew and basically I was about to leave and she just said, "Would you like me to make you a sandwich?"

You winked at her, didn't you?

I don't think I did. No. I don't I don't think so.

That would either get you the role or get you, you know, not if you're winking at the director's wife.

No, I don't think so. Yeah, it could you could really fall flat on your face there, couldn't you? That could absolutely backfire.

I read that Colin actually gave you a gift.

For Christmas he bought me uh a keep you know you know that old kind of classic British Keep Calm and Carry On.

Keep Calm and Carry On.

Um, he got me a Keep Calm and Love Colin Firth mug. Um, uh, and I was obviously thrilled with it. But over the Christmas break um, I went away and had my own little version made for him. His was red so I made a blue one with Keep Calm and Love Taron Egerton. I do actually have a picture of Colin Firth drinking it.

You kidding.

Yeah, it remains service on Twitter with his permission.

Do you have a picture of him with the tea with the the pinky up?

Um, no, I don't think he has a pinky up. I think he look he's just sort of looking very sort of dry and thoroughly unamused by the whole thing.

So he takes himself very seriously, doesn't he?

Not at all. No. No. I think that's a but that's a perception people have of him. Not not at all. No. He's amazing.

Yeah. And this is a Kick-Ass again a Kick-Ass version of Colin Firth that we've never seen before.

Yeah. He's amazing in it, isn't it? It's absolutely brilliant.

So in the film you're tested in many different ways. You're put in these death-defying situations. Yeah. Life, in life, would you be the guy that's run and scared or you

No. I would I would be run and scared. Yes. Far, far, far more likely. Um, yeah, I'm nowhere near as um as brave or as death-defying as Eggsy is.

I mean, I know there are some you've got some cuts and bruises, a few scrapes along the way filming this. Do you feel more like, you know, bad-ass now or you

Oh, yeah, I could save the world if I needed to know. Yeah. No problem.

And with a wink and a smile and

Absolutely. Yeah.

How do you think this film is a fresh take?

I think what this is is it combines all of the latest uh effects, but it's kind of um harking back to a time where potentially films weren't taking themselves too seriously. Right. So, I think it's quite unique in that sense really and I think it may actually signify the beginning of a new trend with other films. I know there's a few other different spy films coming out this year.

Um, I'm going to quote Variety. They said a star is born when they were describing you in this film. They they also called you a bulldog of an actor.

I know. Oh, my gosh. Did you see that? With um, with squinched up features. What's that about? I was expecting you to add that part in, but that was a compliment. Anyway, no, they were very lovely. No, I have to say I really enjoyed that because it was kind of I don't know it's quite nice to to have a nice kind of characterful description of you. I was pretty pleased that they were very lovely about me. Yeah.

Speaking of dogs. Yes. In the film Yeah. There's, you know, that's kind of your weakness. I mean, you're put through all these tests and you pass with flying colors and you're asked to

I know. It's channeling a bit of Matthew Vaughn that. Matthew Matthew Vaughn is a big dog fan. He loves dogs. Yeah.

Is he a dog person?

loves dogs. You couldn't harm the dog. You were asked to harm the dog for people who haven't seen the film, but you need to see the film. I'm actually a bit more of a cat person than I am a dog person.

Are you?

In truth, yeah. Which was a fact that Matthew Vaughn found completely

Well, usually guys aren't cat people.

I love cats. I quite like the fact that a cat can walk in and sort of look at you and go, I'm not really interested in you to go and have a bit of kitty cat over there. Right. Whereas a dog, I like some dogs, but if a dog is big and its hair is molting and it's putting slobber all over me then that's we're not we're not going to get on. It's a bit of a turn off.

It's a bit of a turn off. I really want to liken this to females in life. And hard to get versus

All right, perhaps for the frostier customer.

Does that work?

I think there may well be an element of truth to that. There may well be an element of truth.

Really?

Yeah. Yeah. Don't you think that's a general rule though if somebody like slobbering all over you it's like kind of a turn off. I don't mean like

Depends on what point in the evening it is. I don't mean literally. I mean if somebody's, you know, clearly, you know, so into you, you think, oh.

Yeah, no, I think that's generally the the rule, isn't it?

Last but not least, um what was the moment like when you got cast?

I I didn't at all think I was going to get it. No. I um in fact, the signs were kind of pointing to to maybe that I wasn't. Um, and I know it was down for me and a couple of other really quite extraordinary actors um, with with greater profiles actually. So I was I'd kind of resigned myself to the fact that it wasn't going to happen. And then it was a Saturday morning and I was in bed.

Oh, that's the best time to call the guy.

I know. You're in bed sleeping.

Exactly.

I'd I'd probably been out the night before. And then Matthew Vaughn called me that morning and said, we might be about to offer you this part, but here are the the conditions. And then the following Monday, two days later, I got a call from my agent saying yes.

What were the conditions?

Well, lots of kind of boring contractual stuff really, but

I thought you were like, okay, no more drinking those pints at night.

No, yes. There was that. That was one of them. We're going to have to get yourself in shape. Get ripped, all of that sort of stuff. But um, yeah and then other more boring things but yeah, and I

And you said, I'll think about it.

Uh, no, I think I said, thank you so much. I promise I won't let you down and all that kind of thing. Thank you for this chance.

And I want to thank you for coming in. I've had a really fun time.

Well, listen, I've had a fun time too. If you haven't winked at me, so I think we need to go out with one of those. Oh my gosh, now I get it. I get it. I get it. Woah. Oh, that was that was a bit creepy.

It was creepy though. Not on my end, it wasn't. Fantastic. It was fantastic.