Breakout Kingsman: The Secret Service star Taron Egerton has been cast as Elton John in an upcoming biopic about the famed musician.
The Paramount Pictures-financed Rocketman will focus on John’s earlier years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music and sudden rise to global phenomenon in the early 1970s.
John’s debut album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, topped the charts for two months in the U.S. and U.K.
Here’s John performing the title track in 1973:
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Dexter Fletcher, who stepped in to replace Bryan Singer to complete the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, is currently set to direct Rocketman.
Related: Find someone who looks at you the way Taron Egerton looks at Hugh Jackman
And we’ve got to say, young-Elton-John and present-day-Taron-Egerton are twinning hard, so casting must have been an absolute breeze.
We’ve compiled some photos of the two to see if you can tell them apart.
Good luck.
ChrisK
Yeah ones muscular, hot, and has a great hairline and the other one is opposite. Other than that they’re just duplicates of each other. Haha
Troyfight
….^ChrisK…..yup. That’s what I thought.
Sundance
Elton John was very cute in his younger days.
MacAdvisor
One has blue eyes, one has brown. One has a hairy chest, one doesn’t. One is 5’7″ one is 5’10”. One can actually sing, one is clearly lip sinking.
On the other hand, if someone ever makes a movie of my life, I’d much rather they pick this guy to play me than Jack Black, who more resemble me (tho Jack is a great actor).
ingyaom
This is a joke, right?
BGinBigD
God, I hope so!
barkomatic
Yeah, that casting is extremely flattering to Elton John. I’m sure they’ll adjust Egerton’s hairline, dress him in Elton John’s clothes and maybe have him put on a few pound but even so.
Russel Pollard
Taron Egerton is a good looking man nut the truth is Elton John was way better looking in his day. Choosing a beef cake model to portray the legendary Elton John is like giving the role of Jesus Christ to Arnold Scheartznegger.
In the 1970s Elton’s music and his sexy good looks had earned him literally millions of dollars an fans from a remarkably international audience. It seemed that the entire world loved him. Taron Egerton has nothing like the following that Elton John had at the same age . . . and he probably never will have.
What is it about the tunnel vision of the people who are dumping on Elton in comparisin to Egerton? Egerton would actually have to lose some weight and grow some chest hair to look anything remotely like the younger Elton John. It’s as if Americans measure male looks and achievement in nothing other than pectoral inches and six packs.
The younger Elton was a lithe, very fit, high energy performer. A lot of people actually thought he was both handsome and a brilliant singer. There wouldn’t be a gay disco or club back in the day where his music wasn’t played and where he wasn’t lusted after. Like him or loathe him I find the imbecilic comments comparing a man in his sixties with a pumped up young actor straight out of the gym method school of American acting more than a bit rich. Surely to God there are still some young actors left who do not look like vacuous underwear models.
Egerton can certainly act and with some weight loss and suitable prosthetics to give him chest hair and to thin him on top, he will doubtless do what is asked of him and the film will possibly make some money on the coat tails of Elton John’s successful, colorful life. But how disappointing to see the life of a man who has brilliantly championed marriage equality and spoken out forcefully against homophobia way more than those who detract from him for not coming out sooner, reduced to the current American obsession with the stereotype of the steroidal male physique.
jd.cali
WOW. This is completely lame. Just say it David Grant- you think Elton John is ugly and a handsome young actor shouldn’t play him. Geez… Talk about narrow minds… It’s really childish and insulting especially from a gay website no less.
Elton John is a legend. And a big supporter of the LGBTQ community. Egerton is a new fairly unknown actor.
Please have some respect for both of these men and stop drooling over attractive men. Your posts read very juvenile. Please elevate your work.
Armiya
You think anyone at Queerty is a real journalists? They stream through selfie Instagram accounts to find pics to post and promote Davey Wavey. This isn’t intelligent journalism by any means!
Catholicslutbox
He is and he isn’t a big supporter.
He’s the guy that said “civil unions are more than enough”
and then goes to get married the first chance he gets because he wants to be afforded all the protections and rights of married people.
Fucking asshole.
I wouldn’t be surprised if EJ required this guy to go through a “casting couch” audition.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
“there is plenty to hate about her otherwise, and frankly I don’t stand for body shaming regardless of whether I like the person or not.”
Consistency much? One rule for us…..another rule for them
I wonder if certain fragile egos will allow this comment to stay up
lauraspencer
The problem I have with films based on real life people is that 9 out of 10 times they cast performers that are wayyyyy better looking than the real person. If Elton John looked anything like Taron Egerton, Elton would have probably had a different career, personal life, advantages, etc.
Why not cast strong actors that are gifted performers but not necessarily as gifted with their DNA.
MacAdvisor
Yes, Elton would have been much more successful. Snark.
Daniel-Reader
This article seriously made me laugh out loud.
Goforit
I am with you Daniel. The photo comparisons were hilarious. I was a huge fan of Elton’s music (and Bernie Taupin’s) back in the day. Not so much Elton the man. He became the “Uncle Tom” of the gay community.
LABrad
I don’t know …. they could make him look like Elton.
Remember Charlize Theron in Monster?
tham
They have very similar faces..
Here’s young Elton sans hairline.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/343/19530650548_6eec6d4a60_b.jpg
Steve
Sorry I don’t see it
Celtic
No offense to Sir Elton, but this lad is CUTE. Even when Elton was young, he was not cute.
Mack
Taron Egerton does a very good job in the two movies I’ve seen him in. He’s been in both Kingsman: The Secret Service. I don’t recall seeing him without his shirt in those two movies, but damn he’s hot.
paul dorian lord fredine
you ‘don’t recall’? then obviously you weren’t paying attention because the first one had a whole dorm/water sequence where practically everyone was shirtless.
My2Cents
He was the voice of the gorilla in “Sing”. Coincidentally he sang an Elton John tune and killed it. He has a great voice. I’m looking forward to it.
MacAdvisor
Taron Egerton had a passable voice, at best. No offense, but killed is exactly what he did, it DOA when he finished.
Billy Budd
Taron is incredibly cute and it is much better watching a cute boy naked and having gay sex on the screen than watching an Elton John lookalike. Thank god they made the right decision.
ldweisberg
Seriously? Not even close. Also, Elton’s debut album was NOT “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973). It was “Empty Sky” in 1969.
NathanD
Taron does not look like Eddie the Eagle, but portrayed him competently enough, complete with oversized glasses and strange facial expressions.
More than likely it is his work on the Eddie the Eagle film which got him this role maybe?!
Felecia
In the days of old, famous people and royals had their portraits done; and if the artist DIDN’T take a few liberties to intentionally portray the subject as being much better-looking than they really were….well, ‘off with his head’, lol…and human nature hasn’t changed a lot since then. I suspect that Elton had the final say in who got the role anyway, and how many superstars would choose someone that doesn’t flatter the image they have of themselves, lol…lighten up, guys. His ’70’s entourage did enough drugs and booze to THINK he was a hottie, and when Elton took that piano for a ride, it didn’t matter that he was a rhinestone-spangled British leprechaun with groovy shades, lol…the voice and lyrics took us ALL to a better place…..I’m sure the movie will be worth seeing. If not, Sir Elton John would move heaven and earth to keep it from the public eye, lol…
nm4047
why don’t they just re-show: Tantrums & Tiaras, that’s more than enough to show what Reggie Dwight is like in reality. Can only assume Elton had the option to reject who was chosen to play his role. Clearly Prince Willie wasn’t available. 🙂
mujerado
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was not Elton Johns’s debut album; it was his SEVENTH album, 4 years after his first one, “Empty Sky.”
Jack Meoff
Elton was always as ugly as a hot full of a@@holes so why are they casting hot young thirst trap to play him? This has got to be some of the worst casting I have ever seen. How is anyone supposed to relate to Egerton as Elton when looks play such an important part in one’s perceptions of a public figure.
JJinAus
Come now, who has casting approval?
Aromaeus
If I’m gonna get to see Taron in compromising scenes with another guy I’m fine with this casting.
batesmotel
So Hollywood is still casting pretty boys that can’t act to play real life people. It’s unlikely this will be a hit, unless of course he goes through an excruciating transformation process inside and out proving he’s not just a pretty face. The same way Charlize Theron did for “Monster”. Something tells me that’s unlikely with this one.
Bradsman
That’s like when Cary Grant played Cole Porter in the biopic Night and Day.