The invasion of emerging British talent to the states has us starry-eyed and swooning. From bona fide boy bands to alluring actors, we cannot seem to get enough of these UK natives.
Meet Taron Egerton, the 25-year-old English hunk who experienced his breakout role this year in Kingsman: The Secret Service as the ruffian-turned-secret agent Gary “Eggsy” Unwin. With his effortless charm and youthful good looks (and not to mention a killer accent), the trajectory of his career will likely continue to escalate. Here’s what you need to know about our new favorite Brit:
He’s a trained actor.
Egerton studied acting at the prestigious Royal Academy of Acting (which boasts alumni such as Ralph Fiennes and Anthony Hopkins), graduating with honors in 2012. A master of his trade, Egerton is a skilled tenor and stage performer. He is even able to evoke a wide range of accents, which has helped garner him work.
Although new to the big screen, he’s had a few minor roles in TV and film.
Apart from select short films in 2012 and 2013, you may have recognized Egerton in other roles. In 2014, he starred as a Dennis Severs in the TV drama “the Smoke” about a recovering firefighter. He also played Edward Brittain in the World War Two drama Testament of Youth, a film that has grossed both critical acclaim and popular appeal in the same year.
His plan-B was to become an English professor.
A man of the arts, Egerton claims to have always had a passion for literature. Although acting has become his focus, he says that if things had not worked out, he probably would have pursued teaching (imagine the sonnets of Romeo and Juliet being read in his adorable accent).
He will be starring alongside Tom Hardy and Hugh Jackman in future roles.
Egerton will play in the upcoming crime biopic The Legend with Tom Hardy, about twin British gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray. He has also begun shooting another film with Hugh Jackman entitled Eddie the Eagle, which details the true story of Great Britain’s first ski jumper to enter the 1988 Olympics. With so much British eye-candy thrust together on screen, we won’t be able to keep away from the theaters.
He was recently featured in Lazy Habit’s new music video, “the Breach.”
The actor has briefly switched gears playing a glass collector in this gritty new music video by Welsh hip hop group Lazy Habit. Egerton was approached for the role by the band’s guitarist, who is Egerton’s childhood friend and previous roommate. Despite Egerton’s many cultivated on-screen personas, the music video gives a more intimate look into Egerton’s true character, says the video’s creative director James Collins.
He’s doing extremely well for a fresh-faced actor new to the Hollywood scene.
Kingsman: The Secret Service recently made IMDB’s list of the Top 250 Films of All Time, validating the film’s unprecedented and unexpected success. We’ll likely be seeing much more of Egerton after starring in such a fortuitous role. Egerton is even rumored to be the next Hans Solo and Spiderman in upcoming productions.