During a recent interview with ComingSoon.net, stars of Eddie the Eagle Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton discussed their work on the film. Look for Eddie the Eagle in theaters on February 26.
Jackman on remembering Eddie Edwards: “I’m 47, so I knew ‘Eddie the Eagle.” I was 20 and everybody in Australia loved Eddie the Eagle, he became an honorary Australian, just this guy who was fearless, would have a go at anything and said, ‘I’m gonna go and have a bit of a laugh and go to the Olympics and jump off this 90-meter jump.’ We all watched him and loved him and I think as soon as I read the script—Matthew Vaughn had this script that really captured the heart of this guy, which is his dreams were limitless, his passion was limitless, his courage was limitless and he loved it. He just had a good time doing it.”
Taron Egerton on playing Eddie Edwards: “Matthew Vaughn keeps telling me that there’s more of Eddie in me than Eggsy, so I’m not quite sure how to take that. … For an actor to have the chance to go and play something that’s far away from yourself, physically and also in terms of personality, character, is so much fun. It’s slightly terrifying that you won’t live up to it, but it’s just the most creatively satisfying challenge. Obviously, having researched Eddie and finding out what he looks like and what he was about and the have a chance to step into his shoes was just wonderful.”
Jackman on Egerton’s performance: “I don’t think there’s any other actor I can think of who can go from ‘Kingsman’ to Eddie, and play both so successfully. It’s such a wildly different genre, different styles and it’s a really difficult thing to pull off something like Eddie, to make it so heartwarming and likable, funny and yet not over the top too goofy. He does a brilliant job.”
Egerton on his breakout career after Kingsman: “It’s been a wonderful, straight out of the gate entry into the industry and the world of Hollywood. It’s been brilliant for me getting exposure, showing the world what I do, and it’s a really exciting time and I owe a lot of that to Matthew Vaughn.”
Egerton on the status of Kingsman 2: “There’s a script but Matthew’s a perfectionist, so it’s a great script but he doesn’t settle for anything less than the best so he’s making sure it’s perfect, and there’s lots of surprises in store—some great new characters, some great locations and it’s going to be really fun.”