Taron Egerton and Rami Malekboth know what it’s like to play a music icon.
Malek won an Oscar for his portrayal of Queen front man Freddie Mercury in 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and similarly, Egerton is getting Oscar buzz for his turn as Elton John in 2019’s Rocketman. Despite them both donning the personas of two music legends, one of the key differences in their respective performances is that Egerton sang on his own for his movie musical, whereas Malek’s voice was mixed with the late Mercury’s.
A fan tuning in to Watch What Happens Live on Thursday night wanted to know what the Kingsman star thought of that little fact. As they asked, “Since you sang all of your own songs in Rocketman, what did you think about Rami Malek not always singing by himself in Bohemian Rhapsody?”
Egerton’s answer was swift and decided. Without missing a beat, he responded, “I think it’s a beautiful performance by an incredible young man.”
And that’s that!
One thing the actor doesn’t have as glowing of an opinion of, however, is Delta Airlines censoring the sex scene he had with Game of Thrones alum Richard Madden in the film. (The airline has since restored the scenes following backlash.)
Answering another fan’s inquiry about the scene being edited out for viewers on Delta flights, the 30-year-old star made his thoughts on the matter explicitly clear.
Scott Garfitt/Deadline Hollywood/Shutterstock, Swan Gallet/WWD/Shutterstock
As he explained, “We worked incredibly hard to try and make the movie as inclusive and progressive as it could possibly be. And it’s a story about a gay icon and a standard-bearer of the community, so those scenes are really, really important and how dare anybody edit our f*#cking film?”
On a lighter note, the star also revealed his favorite John song that he wish had made it into the flick.
He told host Andy Cohen his favorite track is ”‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight,’ which I tried to get [Dexter Fletcher] to put in the movie and he wouldn’t do it.”
A shame, really.
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