Taron Egerton, star of "Rocket Man," receives first Golden Globe nomination.

Taron Egerton, star of "Rocket Man," receives first Golden Globe nomination.

This summer you may have first seen 30-year-old Taron Egerton playing Elton John in the biopic "Rocket Man." Or maybe you like action movies like "Kingsman": or maybe you like action movies like "Kingsman: The Secret Service," in which he played the titular character alongside Colin Firth. Either way, Egerton received his first Golden Globe nomination for best performance in a musical comedy for "Rocket Man," and we'll be seeing more of him in the future. Here's everything you need to know about the actor ahead of the 2019 Golden Globe Awards (opens in new tab) on January 5.

Egerton was technically born in England, but soon moved to Wales with his mother Christine to live with his grandmother. They settled in Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, a town with a very long character. He loves his hometown, but is fed up with people asking him how to pronounce it.

"Please, please, record this. Please don't ask me where I'm from. Yes, it's a long name, and there's a video of me saying it on YouTube," he told the British edition of GQ (opens in new tab). You can look it up. It's more satisfying to listen to an old video of me saying it than it is for me to say it again."

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While promoting "Eddie the Eagle" with co-star Hugh Jackman in 2016, the actor was asked how he pronounced the 58-letter town on The Tonight Show. Jackman graciously took over for Egerton to ease his vocal cords and finally give his co-star a break. Furthermore, if you are really interested in the actual pronunciation of his hometown, YouTube can help.

At age 15, Egerton was encouraged by a friend to participate in the youth theater program for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and landed a flute role.

"As soon as I walked out, I remember the audience bursting into enthusiastic applause and the place bursting into laughter. The moment I heard the laughter, I realized that what I was doing was working," he told the UK edition of GQ (opens in new tab)." I don't subscribe to the idea of fate or anything predetermined, but this was the closest I've ever come to feeling that everything in my world was in the right place."

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Following his intuition, he then auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London using John's "Your Song" (after singing a duet with John at the 2019 Academy Awards after-party (open in a new tab), "It's funny how life turns out," (he joked) and was accepted with a scholarship.

Egerton graduated with a bachelor's degree in acting in 2012 and three years later was offered the lead role in the "Kingsman" trilogy alongside Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Caine. So it's not a big deal or anything.

Besides singing his heart out in "Rocket Man" and playing a secret agent in "Kingsman," Egerton has worked in film. A Testament of Youth" with Kit Harington, "Eddie the Eagle" with Hugh Jackman, "Robin Hood" with Jamie Foxx, "Legend" as Tom Hardy's on-screen boyfriend, and a gorilla named Johnny in the animated SING/SING, in which he played an animated gorilla named Johnny.

Yes, it's true. Egerton sang all 20 songs in "Rocket Man" and chose not to use backing vocals. As noted above, he appeared in the animated sing-along film "Sing" and sang two songs in the film: the Zombies' "The Way I Feel" and Elton John's "I'm Still Standing."

Prior to filming, Egerton lived with Elton John and his husband. Before filming began, "John [who produced the film] and [her husband David Furnish] let me into their lives. Egerton told GQ magazine. 'Elton gave me the first diamond earrings he ever bought.

The results clearly paid off, as John found out when he saw the film for the first time. The music legend told Indiewire (opens in new tab) When you see this film, you see yourself, not the actor. He is an extraordinary man. "

The actor has been dating girlfriend Emily Thomas for two years. She is an assistant director who worked with Gal Gadot on "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League" and was the third assistant director on "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and "Children of the King."

"My girlfriend works in the industry too, so we have a hard time making time for just the two of us. I listen to podcasts on my little speakers, drink a Corona, and watch the sun go down. It's the happiest time of my life."

As for how they met, it definitely wasn't on a dating app, as Egerton has stated that he is not one to swipe right; in 2015, he told ShortList (opens in new tab) the story of when he asked a girl out on a date the old fashioned way He told the story. 'I actually once asked a girl out kamikaze style. I stopped her on the subway and said, 'I think you look great, let's go for a drink sometime. ' It's a horrible thing to do, but ultimately very rewarding."

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