'Eddie the Eagle' Surprises at Sundance, Where Hugh Jackman Endorses Taron Egerton for Han Solo Role
Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards is not a household name in the U.S. — and frankly, said Hugh Jackman, that’s the reason why a biopic about the British Olympian was kicking around Hollywood for 15 years before it got made. Jackman and friends are hoping that changes with the inspirational new sports drama Eddie the Eagle, which premiered to cheers last night as the surprise, unofficial screening at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film stars Kingsman breakout Taron Egerton as Edwards, who, despite his working-class London background and severe athletic shortcomings, was so determined to become an Olympian that trained himself how to ski jump in less than a year and found loopholes in the entry process enabled him to compete in the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary. Edwards didn’t win any medals, but he became a media sensation and British folk hero when all was said and done.
Eddie the Eagle, helmed by actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher from a script by Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton, plays like the U.K.’s answer to Rudy. Amazingly, both the Aussie Jackman (47) and the Wales-born Egerton (26) admitted to never hearing of the 1993 football crowdpleaser starring Sean Astin when we caught up with them in Park City a few hours before the premiere.
But they were full of laughs as Egerton admitted he couldn’t really see anything in Eddie’s huge glasses and Jackman (who plays Eddie’s reluctant, hard-drinking coach Bronson Peary) shared his failed childhood plan to break a Guinness World Record. Also discussed: the fact that Egerton has been long-rumored to be the next Han Solo, is reportedly in running (among a handful of other promising young actors) to play a younger version of the beloved bounty hunter. Jackman hadn’t yet heard this, but was quick to endorse his Eagle co-star for the gig.
Eddie the Eagle is so ‘80s there’s a training montage set to Hall & Oates. And a van-surfing scene that, correct me if I’m wrong, felt like a Teen Wolf homage.
Taron Egerton: We love that! I was actually the cultural consultant for the '80s, having been there from start to finish. [Egerton was born in 1989.]
Hugh Jackman: People are going to see that surfing on top of a van moment and think we’ve gone a step too far, but that’s actually true. That’s how he first tried to get used to the feeling of the wind. Often when people [ski jump] for the first time the skis smack them in the head. So you have to scream consciously into the wind… They do really do that.
Was Eddie pretty excited to see his story get the movie treatment?
Egerton: Yeah!
Jackman: He’d signed his life rights away 15 years ago for this. So it took 15 years getting the film up. He was probably like, 'Oh, finally!’ But he’s a very knockaround guy. As it shows in the movie, I don’t think he went into it to become famous…. He just loved jumping, he loved the Olympics, and everything else was a byproduct.
Taron, you’re barely recognizable in this movie. What did that physical transformation entail?
Egerton: I don’t know, really. It was something that just kind of happened, it just felt right. I was very aware of how he looked, and his mannerisms, and I watched interviews with him. I mean a lot of it was done for me, those glasses do a tremendous amount. I could not see in those glasses, so I sort of found myself looking a bit bewildered the whole time. … I thought I was going to be suffering from crippling migraines after a couple days wearing those glasses. Thankfully it didn’t happen.
Related: Meet Taron Egerton: 12 Things to Know About the 'Kingsman’ Breakout
Hugh, you didn’t have to undergo that many physical tweaks, though Bronson does have a great hairstyle. It’s kind of a half-mullet, business up front without the party in the back.
Jackman: Well, I did that maybe not so well in Chappie. I had a good mullet but with blond tips. Done. Deb [his wife] always says a good thing about being married to an actor is you get to have an affair every three months. That was a lean three months to be honest, with the ol’ mullet.
Egerton: [bursting into laughter] It came back after that haircut.
Jackman: “Turn the lights off, honey.”
Well, Wolverine probably does all right in that department.
Egerton: The muttonchops are better.
Jackman: Which is good, because I’ve had so many years playing him.
Hugh, what’s your secret to playing drunk so well?
Egerton: Because you nailed those parts! Especially for someone who’s not a big drinker, you really, really nailed that.
Jackman: Drunk people desperately try to look sober. And act sober. And speak sober. And it’s almost the over-trying that makes it work. But I spin around a few times. So I make myself dizzy, and then really try not [to fall down]. It’s like the old game, spin around and then try and walk on that line. And then there’s that over-trying.
Egerton: And of course a quarter-bottle of whiskey before every take.
Do you ever fall?
Jackman: Yeah, sometimes I do.
Egerton: In the snow as well.
What were your own personal Winter Olympics? What were you determined to be as kids, was it always about acting?
Jackman: My brother and I wanted to be in the Guinness Book of Records. When I was growing up, Guinness Book of Records was a massive thing. This is so stupid, but at first we tried the coin-flip. But then we centered on badminton, the longest continuous game of badminton. The record was 48 hours-plus. The rules are you can take a 5-minute break every hour, or accrue the 5 minutes, so you can play for 12 hours and have an hour break. So my brother said, “The hardest bit is going to be staying up, so let’s practice staying awake.” I gave up at 3 o'clock in the morning. My brother stayed up the entire night and then went school and came home sick and crashed out. We never got to the actual badminton [laughs]. But I loved my brother’s determination.
Egerton: I was not the most sporty kid, really. I played football and stuff because all the other boys did. But I wanted to do animation up until I started acting. I used to draw characters… My dream was to work for Pixar when I got older. But I always wanted to voice a character… And this year I’ve managed to kind of fulfill that dream, I’m voicing a character in a kids animated movie called Sing, and I get to sing in it as well. I play a gorilla, and it’s me and Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon.
Only with your job can you say something like “I play a gorilla” so casually and with such a straight face. Speaking of other projects, Hugh, you’re about to break your own record for number of times an actor has played the same comic-book character (Wolverine) in X-Men: Apocalypse, which will the eighth, and then ninth for the 2017 Wolverine standalone movie.
Jackman: I don’t really count the numbers but I certainly am amazed at 17 years of playing this character, which I love, obviously. And it’s been the backbone of my career, and I am ridiculously grateful to the fans and I am really taking this last one so seriously. I’ve never worked as hard on one as this, and I really leave it on a high. Not just for me, but for all the fans. It’s kind of amazing, no one really saw all this coming.
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Where are you with the last one?
Jackman: We’re getting ready to shoot. We’re just finalizing the script. But until it’s perfect I won’t go.
Taron, can you say anything about auditioning for young Han Solo and what that process has been like?
Egerton: The Han Solo auditions? I can’t. I’ve read the speculation online but I can’t say anything. It’s an incredible part, a part treasured by everyone. I can’t pretend that it wouldn’t be wonderful for it to happen, but I can’t say any more than that.
How about you, Hugh? Can you say anything Taron auditioning to play young Han Solo?
Jackman: This is the first I’ve heard about it. I’m listening and [to Taron] I’ve got some questions for you. I’m gonna grill the shit out of you.
You’ll get the real scoop after this interview is over.
Jackman: It makes me think there’s more to it! I’d like to say I think Taron would be wonderful. I think it’s a natural fit.
Egerton: But the rest of the guys are fantastic actors as well.
Related: Harrison Ford Nominates Himself to Play Young Han Solo
Well, I think you can talk about Kingsman 2. How is that shaping up?
Egerton: I can say that it’s very, very exciting. I know what happens. The story is brilliant. Matthew’s dreamed up something totally spectacular and crazy. It’s a much bigger story. There’s going to be brilliant characters. The set pieces will make the last one look small fry. It’s going to be extraordinary, it really is. I don’t think anyone but Matthew Vaughn could pull it off. It will be massive.
Eddie the Eagle opens Feb. 26.
