Happy Sad Confused - Taron Egerton, Vol. III

Episode Date: July 31, 2025

Taron Egerton's career is changing with both the times but also his own aspirations as an actor. He comes back to the pod to chat about honoring his acting heroes in SMOKE, going indie with SHE RIDES SHOTGUN, and why playing Wolverine might not be for him. UPCOMING EVENTS! Ben Stiller & Seth Rogen LIVE in Los Angeles on August 15th! ⁠Get your tickets here ⁠ Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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acting and I love making films and I love the TV work I've been a part of but I'm very comfortable with the level is at now where I get asked for a selfie maybe you know

a couple times a day the other thing that people experience I just don't know that I didn't built for it yeah I don't I don't know prepare your ears humans happy sad confused begins now Hey guys, it's Josh, and welcome to another edition of Happy Sayek Infused.

We have a very familiar face on the podcast. Returning today, it is Taryn Edgerton, talking she-rides shotgun and smoke and Kingsman and Wolverine and all sorts of other things. Always great to have Taryn back on the pod. This is a great chat. Thanks, guys, as always, for checking out what I do over here. Click a reminder. Check out our Patreon.

Patreon.com slash happy Sayag Confused for all the info. on upcoming events, merch, all sorts of bonus materials, support us over there so we can make more stuff over here. Speaking of events, we have a big one coming up. August 15th, Los Angeles. If you happen to be there, get your tickets now because these tickets will go. Seth Rogan and Ben Stiller together. It would be one thing if it was one of them. That would be cool. Seth Rogan, amazing. Ben Stiller amazing. They're coming together for a very unique, one-of-a-kind conversation with me for Happy, Said, Confused. They, of course, are at the helm of these two juggernauts,

two of my favorite shows on TV, Severance and the studio. Also, they're, I mean, they're parallel careers as actors, comic performers, directors, two are just the smartest guys in the business. So it's going to be a really cool night. Get your tickets now. August 15th. It's going to be at the Fine Arts Theater, where I've hosted a couple things in the past.

I hope to see you guys there. Okay, so quick preamble on Taryn. He is a happy second if he's regular, I would say. It's probably, I think it's a third time on the podcast. He's in a really cool, interesting space in his career right now. You know, he's done the blockbuster stuff, of course. But now he's really found this cool niche, and he'll talk about this in the conversation of these character parts. You know, this is his second Apple show in a row with Dennis Lehane, great writer at the helm.

This one's called smoke. He's talking about that in this conversation. It's a really compelling drama about he's an arson investigator. Dernie Smollett is a co-star in this. And I'm not going to reveal too much here. But I will say in this conversation, we do get into some spoiler territory. So keep your eyes and ears peeled. If you don't want smoke spoiled for you, tread cautiously.

That's my warning on that. He also talks a bit about she rides shotgun, which is this fantastic. A new film, I believe it's opening, I want to say August 1st. Yeah, August 1st. And this is a small indie, but a really cool, compelling drama thriller. He plays an ex-con trying to protect his daughter. He's on the run. A real passion project for Taryn.

He's a producer on the film. So really cool to catch up with him, like I said, coming off of like the Kingsman films and obviously Rocket Man. And to now, as he says, really chasing and embracing. these character pieces, um, he's trying to balance out that career. And I think the blockbusters will always be there for him. Yes, we do talk about Wolverine. It always comes up. He has some really interesting things to say about that, about whether he'd make a good Wolverine, whether he'd even want to play Wolverine, some surprising stuff to hear maybe. Um, and a little bit about the future of Kingsmen to boot. So a lot to enjoy in this conversation. I think you guys will

dig it. So without any further ado, please enjoy me and Taryn Edgerton. All right. I'm joined not only by Taran Edgerton. It's Taran Edgerton's iPad, as you can see in the lower left hand corner of a screen. It's good to see everybody. Yeah, I'm good, man. You know, like everybody else, trying my best. Just surviving. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So are you between jobs right now? You've got a couple things to promote. But are you gearing up or something, coming off of something? Give me a sense of where you're at. I don't know I did finish something a couple of months ago so I suppose we'll say I'm coming off something because that sounds like I'm very very busy

Always in demand I made a movie at the start of the year and I was in Australia for a few months and I have something that is at the end of the year but I think I'm looking at a few months of chilling out I think I'll be filming again

November I think So I'm told. I'm just acting, man. I just do what I'm told when I'm told. When you're called upon. How are you nowadays, you know, having done this for more than a minute with managing downtime, managing the months of waiting of like, we're getting the financing together, when? Like, are you?

Terrible. Yeah. It's really, it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's funny you ask that. It's the, one of the big things in my life that I'm really cognizant of trying to get better at because it's, I find challenging. I really love being busy and I love working and I love filming. It's great to have a big focus

but I do find a downtime more challenging. It's becoming clearer to me as I've entered my mid-30s that you really have to impose a structure and kind of build a structure when you don't have one imposed upon you by filming

because it can be challenging otherwise. I mean no one wants to hear an actor complain about their life and I don't intend to but I'd say it's one of the challenges of what I do for a living that the kind of the feast and famine

all or nothing nature of it, you know? Well, it's also like the nature of when you're in production is you are so in it and you are given your schedule, you're given your times, you're kind of like, you're taking care of to a degree

and you're also kind of have a very singular purpose. And I know some actors, like, almost to the detriment of their personal life, can, like, you know, I'm off the grid from the next four months. Like, I'll talk to you at four months when I'm done with the job. So it's, it is a Easter famine. It's either like, oh, my God, I'm suddenly like, I have no idea what to do with myself. Or it's like, I'm so laser focused, there's nothing else. And that's an odd. It is, it is odd.

But also a great joy, you know, I mean, I, it means my life is kind of, my life is made up of adventures. and they're wonderful and they're glorious and they're in amazing places in different cities and different parts of the world and as far as possible I'm playing somebody who's lived a completely different life from myself

and I love all that well that's great but you know it can be hard to then just come back down to earth a little bit and it's and I you know I sort of yeah I don't know like the thing I did at the start of the year was quite it was really

all-consuming. It's one of the more extreme things I've done. It's to me and one other actor in the wilderness for months on end. Wait, which one is this? This is an apex, is it?

Is this apex? Yeah, this is apex. I don't know. I've not seen a cut or anything of it, but yeah, it's pretty out there for sure. Wait, who are you sharing? Because I thought there are a few actors attached.

Isn't Charlize in there? Is it you and Charlize? Or who are you hanging in the wilderness with? It's me. It's for about, I'd say, 90% of the movie. It's just me and Charlize, yeah. This is a joy. They pay you for that.

That's amazing. She's one of my favorite human beings. I mean, you can now attest it. Yeah, she's wonderful. Yeah. She's an amazing, amazing person here. Yeah. And so funny and filthy in the best possible way.

I'm obsessed with her. Yeah. Well, that, okay, so we have time to talk about that. Okay, we're going to get into, I want to get into smoke and she rides shotgun. We have two purposes, two things to talk about today. First, before we get to those two, I'm just curious, like, where you're at right now. Because the last time we spoke, it was another Dennis Lehane Apple series. And you were, I feel like you're in this interesting transitional point as an actor, both dictated by kind of your interests, but also where the industry's at.

Like, the industry is so different than when you and I started talking, like when you're doing the Kingsman film. and Eddie the Eagle, et cetera, like studio filmmaking is very specific and it's blockbuster or bust. Streaming is taking over. These prestige shows are very rewarding for actors. Just give me a sense of

how different the environment is for you now versus when we were talking 10, 15 years ago. Well, I guess I did, I kind of, I experienced the very tail end of um of um of ubiquitous as you say you know larger budget or middle to large budget budget studio filmmaking or some version of it because the way matthew made films wasn't really is kind of a

little structured a little differently yeah but yes you're right i i have definitely felt that i have had to adapt and um kind of shift with a change industry, but it's not, it's really not something I've been cognizant of in the decisions I've, I've made. And it was actually only when somebody said to me recently in a kind of lamenting fashion that I hadn't been in a theatrically released movie since Rocket Man, that it really, and it was, it kind of stopped me in my tracks and made me for a second, I suppose, wonder if I, only for a brief second, but it shocked me. It shocked me for a moment.

And I thought, oh, wow, am I, am I not fulfilling some expectation of myself or fulfilling something I should have done? But the fact of the matter is, very, very little is made and works in that fashion anymore. And the choices that I've made, certainly, I have to say, if I'm completely honest, the choice that I'm making over the past few years and the parts I'm playing are much, much, much more in line with my taste and my aspirations as an artist to use a lofty turn. But it is, you know, then the characters in the movies I was doing in the first five years of my career. I love Kingsman and I loved, you know, I love working with Matthew and I hope to do more with him one day. but I really have loved the opportunities afforded to me

through Apple and Dennis Lane, both Blackbird and Now Smoke. They are really, really interesting and really challenging parts, particularly this latest one. It's definitely the hardest role I've played. And yeah, the thing with Charlie is at the start of the year is my attempt and indeed smoke

and also my film that comes out this summer, She Ride Shotgun. They're all kind of in line with I suppose I'm trying to tread a line between pursuing character roles because those are the things that stimulate me. But I do also like the feeling of being I suppose a leading actor.

That's a nice feeling too. It's nice to feel like you're at the the spearhead of the storytelling. And also, you know, not to be crude or crass, I also have aspirations in terms of the lifestyle I want and the lifestyle I want to help to provide for people who I care about. And those are all real world things. So juggling all of those things is, I guess,

what's led me to where I am now, which is a place I'm reasonably comfortable with, I think, I think. Well, the proof's in the pudding. The performances are great. I mean, I don't want to, we're not going to reveal, I think by the time this runs on the smoke front, it's going to be six or seven episodes in. I've seen the entire thing. So I don't know if you're comfortable.

Yeah, it's fantastic. And I won't ruin the ending for folks. But I'll just say this, the final moments of you on screen, just stay to the end. because it is just one of the great endings in a series I've seen in a long time. Oh, thanks, man. It's pretty bad shit, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out, yeah. Yeah, so, okay, so for those that don't know, you alluded to this, this is you reteaming with the great Dennis Lehane,

obviously a very rewarding experience on Blackbird, another dark, complicated character, but this character, an arson investigator, who will start with like one non-spoilery part, then we'll get into spoiler stuff. Sure, yeah, yeah, sure. But we can say there's a lot of duality to this character, character he is not he is an unreliable narrator to say the least um yeah this must be so is was

this immediately obvious of how juicy an opportunity how interesting a challenge this could be for you as an actor yeah 100% my heroes are um are actors like gary oldman and anthony hopkins and and and and i've always felt like i always have felt like this role because it's a role that's been in development for a few years now. We started talking about it when we finished Blackbird, but it really, it always felt to me like something that would be worthy of an actor like that. It's complicated and dark and very ugly and, and I think, you know, a challenge, I think, and not for a second, please don't mistake me, I'm not comparing myself to Gary Oldman, but I am saying that if there's someone I could be, it would probably be him,

You know, not, you know, I'm aware that's ridiculous. But, and I, and this role of Dave in smoke, from the, from the get-go, it just felt like something that was too good an opportunity to pass up. I knew a little bit about the story when Dennis approached me about it. And I think I feel that given the time, because since we're at the time of recording the fourth episode is now, so the first, I feel like we can delve. We can go and say, yeah, by the end of the second episode is the reveal, right? The end of the, so he's an arson investigator. Fairly, I would say a hapless, maybe even a little oafish arson investigator who is having very little luck in pursuing two serial prolific arsonists.

You find out at the end of the second episode that he is the one of them. And so he has this interesting thing where he is not. he doesn't have split personality, but there's certainly a bifurcation of who he is, and quite how concrete that is in his mind is one of the many secrets of Dave, you know, because I do think he really believes he is a hero, and I think the fact he's an arsonist

is a really inconvenient truth for him. I think, you know, just like, you know, whenever I think as people, whenever we do things that are bad for us, can feel a bit like we're on autopilot and then we go, well, why the fuck did I do that? And I think I think that's who Dave is when he's setting fires.

But anyway, I'm just waffling now enjoying the sound of my own voice. What did you ask me? Here's what I want to say. I find it very entertaining to watch throughout. I find him to be a fascinating character, a comic character in some ways. Like a deeply insecure, sad.

Like, I love, like, the aspect of him as like this like failed writer, this like kind of like struggling artists, which I find really amusing. I mean, he is, yeah. I mean, do you find him, I mean, he's dangerous. He is dangerous. And I think one of the things that I found

most difficult about him to marry is that ophish, the comedic side of him, the clownish side of him. And then the fact that within the, with, you know, his function in the show is to be an antagonistic, force and someone who can also be reasonably

gary, I think. And I found those things quite difficult to marry in my mind. But just like Dave, I think you just commit from moment to moment. And you mention his aspirations as a writer. That's one of my favorite little features of who he is as a person, because the really supple thing, but it says something really kind of spiritually eloquent about about people where his creative pursuit

it nearly saves him you notice early on it nearly is kind of the thing that takes him away from this very dark destructive side of his nature until he's rejected and then it all comes falling down around him but yes fascinating role written by the great Dennis Lanier who's become you know, a big creative collaborator in my life,

and I really hope we do more together. And, yeah, I had a wild ride playing him. I don't mind saying it was hard. The first couple of episodes where you don't really know what's going on with him. Yeah. And I felt like I was flying blind. I didn't really know what on earth I was doing.

But I think my advantage point and many others, it works very well. You kill it as always. Thank you. I feel like the ulterior motive in your career has been like these associations with great musical artists because you know obviously you have Elton through Rocket Man

you have no less than Tom York doing the song for this. Have you do you have any relationship with Tom York how like what's the Taran Edgerton connection there? That's that's rare. And so I really don't think there is one like like any

navel gazing male I love Radiohead but I think what happened was Because my understanding is he saw Blackbird and enjoyed it very much. And so I think it was a fairly straightforward thing when Dennis was embarking on his second outing, his showrunner. And that's how it happened.

But no, aside from being a lover of Tom's work, there's no personal connection. Okay. first and thoughtful design that leaves plenty of room for autumn adventures. And see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. This September, lease a 2026 XC90 plug-in hybrid from $599 biweekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience Event. Condition supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. When your investors, customers and workers demand more

from your business, make it happen with SAP. The AI-powered capabilities of SAP can help you streamline costs, connect with new suppliers, and manage payroll, even when your business is being polled in different directions. To deliver a quality product at a fair price, while paying your people what they're worth too, so your business can stay unfazed. Learn more at SAP.com slash uncertainty. All right, let's talk a little shoe ride shotgun. I got a chance to see this one, too. This is another great piece of work. I saw this filmmaker's last film, Con, with Horses, and I clocked him right there,

so I'm excited to see you collaborating with him in this. And it's striking on a number of levels. I mean, like, you know, we were talking about kind of the kind of material you've done. This is probably the smallest production, I would imagine. This is an indie film. This is a 25-day shoot. This is, as much as the bells and whistles are,

that's kind of like a thriller, maybe even a Western. It's really a character piece. It's you and your daughter in this. Yeah. Did you find this environment, refreshing, different, considering there were a little bit less bells and whistles? Yeah.

I mean, again, it was something that arrived in my email inbox, and I'd seen Car with Horses. And, like, you know, I think that was a movie that obviously didn't get a wide release. I think was seen by many people outside of the industry, but I think the industry really paid attention to it. And in particular actors, I think, really love that movie. It's something that I was very struck by as having a very authored feel.

It teaches two horrific central performances from Cosmo Jarvis and also Barry Keogh. And they're both brilliant in it. And I suppose, whenever an, you know, an interesting independent filmmaker expresses an interest in talking to me. I'm always quite flattered by that because, you know, people have their different routes into the industry. And mine was not through independent filmmaking. I didn't, it didn't build slowly, you know, I dropped into Kingsman.

So I don't have those credentials. You know, they're not my kind of stomping ground, or it's not the way I came up, I suppose. And so I'm always very flattered. This kind of film is usually like the first three films in someone's career, and you're kind of doing it in reverse engineering now. Maybe, yeah, yeah, maybe.

And I was in Virovnik, and I read the script, and it just had such heart and soul, And it just, I really connected with it really quickly. I loved the role. I loved the relationship with Polly, who is the main character of the film. And I met with Nick and we sat at a Soho house in London, one of the 1500 Soho houses in London. And we had a really, we had a, we had just sat and had lunch together. got along and he asked me to play the role and then we um we went and we did it in 25 days in

new mexico and it's um i produced the movie as well and um and really about more than anything else i've done from the absolute beginning to the absolute end it's been a real labor of love it's hard for making a movie like that it's hard physically it's hard emotionally mentally you have to never kind of waver or doubt it just takes everything to get the thing made because it's hard and I love it I absolutely love it I love honor in it I love the kind of brutality of it mixed with the tenderness of their relationship and I watch it and I you know I've seen it a couple of times and I don't absolutely hate the experience of watching it which is becoming increasingly unusual for me and um i uh yeah it's um a piece i'm really really proud of

really proud of actually i i almost never find anything of that much interest in production notes but i found this fascinating i read that you asked some notable actors to recommend films that were in the same vein as this film and i love the people you called upon i love some of the films they mentioned i want to talk about this because i you know i'm a oh wow yeah i did so you hit up you by the way gary oldman is like a new spirit animal of this podcast he's i've done a few things with him in recent years and i'm obsessed with him i was obsessed with him growing up but i'm now obsessed with the man too um yeah he was one you hit up has has gary become someone you've kind of i don't know forged a bit of a bond with not at all i wish no he and i met at a thing

and he had seen blackbird and liked it very much and i had seen pretty much everything he's ever been in and liked it very much. Big fan, everything you've done, everything. Yeah, all of this, this all works for me. And, yeah, my mind is frantically working now to try and figure out what these actors told me to watch. I can remind you if you want. I think he said, he mentioned straight time.

Yep, straight time. And Gary Oman told me to watch straight time. Yeah. And the conversation. The conversation is one of my favorite films anyway but I hadn't seen straight time and it was a really interesting comp for this and it was lovely actually

but just over text you know I mentioned that I was just preparing for something that I loved and a bit about the genre and just asked him for something that he, you know I just asked him and two other actors who I admire but just performances that inspired them or they thought might be galvanizing or invigorating or whatever. So he said, Gary Oldman said, straight time.

And then I asked, I asked Stevie G. And Stephen Graham, Stephen Graham is actually, he is actually a friend. Stephen and I are, he's somebody that I, you know, see when we're in the same place. And, you know, I'm friendly with Hannah, his wife. and, you know, that was less of a kind of a bolt from the blue. Stephen said Gary in something. It was State of Grace. State of grace.

Relatively early role for him. Irish monster, as I recall. Yes, that's right. Yes. So Stephen Graham said state of grace. And then I also, I also, God, listen, I don't know this. There's not a name drop because you've teed me up. So then also I did it.

I asked Wacking Phoenix, who, and he, I mean, he sent like a really long list, like a really, really, really long list, which was lovely of him. But the one that I remember was actually, it was the one that I remember that he was really emphatic about was May December, and he had been very moved by Charles Mountain's performance in that. And I loved that film, and I thought Charles was amazing in it. Yeah. But I can't remember what else he said. Did I say something different on the production?

You said he sent a long list, so you didn't cite any. So now we're in December. That's fascinating. Yes. Yeah, yeah. But I think I was just felt like I was embarking on something that felt very, really stripped back, you know, very, like not a lot of money involved, really in the grand scheme of things. and it just felt like a very pure experience doing a very intense story with a very young actor who is I think one of the most extraordinary I think she's up there I really do

I just think she holds her own against any of the great child performances that I've seen anyway and yeah I like what you said about in reference to this and in smoke in terms of like you know, smoke, you're referencing things like, you know, people like Oldman and Hopkins and not to like compare yourself, but to say like these are, it feels like a role that could have potentially back in the day been worthy of them and you want to aspire to their heights. And I think there's, there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, I think a lot of people were really inspired in a way or kind of loved when, you probably saw this one. Timothy Shao May won, I think it was a SAG Award a year ago. And he said on stage, he's like, I want to be one of the

greats. Like, I want to, like, I'm going for it. And it's like, there's nothing wrong with that. You're not saying you are the greatest, but like, why are you doing this if you're not trying to be, you know, equal or on the same playing field as the folks you grew up worshipping? I don't have a question, but I just, I think there's nothing to apologize for trying to do. No, no, I think I'm, you know, is probably very British of me, but I, I don't for a second want to be misconstrued. but yeah absolutely I you know this is the only thing I can do it's the only thing I do

you know so I I I want to look to the stars to be like the people that that most blew me away when I was deciding this is what I want to do

and one of the amazing things about being a successful actor um is something you get to ask your heroes and it's fucking amazing it's an amazing privilege and it's you know

there's a lot about it that sucks you know and I know I actually make no bones about saying that but like there's a lot about it that's like great

and that's one of the things that's really great it's a real privilege no totally I mean one of the things that sucks not to do like the woe is me thing but I do find it interesting

like I know you left social media a couple years back and you're dipping your toe back in now it seems yeah it's gonna last it's gonna last until the end of the month I basically just want to share the trail of the shoe ride shotgun.

I get it. I get it. But like it does strike me. Look, we catch up on every project. But like in between, you kind of disappear. I don't see photos of you at parties or anything nowadays. And I don't know if that was different 10 years ago or if this is a lifestyle change or philosophical change.

But like you've, it seems from the outside looking in, you've made a choice to kind of like create a lifestyle and an environment that's healthy for your brain, your body, whatever. Is that fair to say? say? I don't know. Yeah, I think it's a complicated question to answer. You're right. I don't go to things. I don't you know, I'm not somebody who lives in the public eye other than when I absolutely have to. And I think in some ways that's, you know, I could be grandiose about that and say that it's a kind of

a withdrawing or a kind of something that I feel I don't need or but the truth of the matter is it's probably based on on a fear on some fear in me really you know I I don't it's not a world I feel comfortable in it's not a place I don't I find if I'm on set and I'm doing my thing I feel very very very at home if I'm stepping out of a car to to something where there's photographers and other people who do the same job as me, but I don't know them, I feel uncomfortable in my skin. It's just not my, you know, my world, really.

I actually wish I was better at it. But I, yeah, I don't know. I think, I don't, it's funny. It's always funny to hear somebody else's perspective on your life. I think that's another thing that's really strange about the job and the life of somebody who is, an actor but also maybe a known person or you know you have to reconcile you have to consistently keep reconciling who you think you are with what other people's perspective of you is and um

it's a head fuck you know it's like it's a weird feeling well yeah every single day when someone approaches you at a Starbucks on the street they are bringing some kind of preconceived image connection with you yeah it's a one-sided relationship that you're catching up on yeah yeah and it's it's nice you know it's like people are nice it's it's nice you know it's i just i forget every day right every day i forget and whenever it happens i it's like i get a i get a job like sometimes when people people will like i often walk down the street with my headphones in and people will tap me on the shoulder and i jump out of my skin every time every time i jump out of my skin and I get a shot of adrenaline and anxiety and neuroses through me because I just

am not expecting it I don't you know it's it's it's almost I almost feel a bit like I'm um I get I expose I don't know I just I can never quite figure out why it's probably better to to feel that than to get too used to it you don't want to be used to being like constantly celebrated in love that's like that's a mind fuck of itself like yeah but i mean that's that's also i that isn't you know i'd be grossly misrepresenting what my life is like if i was constant people throwing flowers yeah um yeah anyway it's you know like anybody else like everybody else in the world i really really really believe that we all face our own version of the trials and tribulations of life you know and mine are truly very very

in comparison to some other people's so important to keep all that in perspective as well. This is it, the day you finally ask for that big promotion. You're in front of your mirror with your Starbucks coffee. Be confident, assertive, remember eye contact, but also remember to blink. Smile, but not too much, that's weird. What if you aren't any good at your job?

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Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol and select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details. Let me ask you some random stuff about potential upcoming things, things you might be interested or not. Do you feel some unfinished business about going back to the stage? Obviously, you were doing something on the West End and did a bit prematurely. I know there were some medical stuff going on. Does it feel like that's something you feel like, oh, that itch wasn't properly scratched? Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

I think, you know, there were a few factors at play when I left that stage show. I think I, for a number of reasons, I think I picked the wrong project. But I also, you know, my mother was very, very ill at the time. I'm sorry. And I was, you know, she was, she was having treatment for, for cancer. And I dropped out of a film when she was diagnosed and came back to the UK to help set up her health care.

And I think it all just got on top of me, frankly. and I was just taking on way more than I had the bandwidth for at the time. Thankfully, six months after that, my mum got the all clear, and she's good, you know, sort of the happy ending to that story, which is great. But yeah, I'd absolutely love to go back to the theatre. It's where I started. It's the absolute beginning of my life as an actor. before drama school

and after drama school before doing Kingsmen I was in theater in London so I'd love to go back but I guess it's about when the right opportunity comes along yeah you know I'm contractually bound

year after year to keep bringing up Marvel I know you love this topic last time I spoke to you on stage I showed you that video of Joe Russo saying you would be the best Wolverine and I know nothing has changed in the world of Marvel and you're not necessarily sweet. Joe's very sweet. Joe and I, Joe and I have friends, though. He's, you know, he's not being impartial there. He's being very, he's doing me a little solid because he's my mind. Did you follow up with him after the fact? Have you talked to Joe? I can't remember. No, I do talk to Joe and I, I do, you know, talk to Joe from time to time, but not, I don't think about that. Um, yeah, I mean, it's, it's really lovely. Um, uh, that, um, that, um, he,

Here's my question. People seem to... Yeah, what is the question? Well, it's a tough thing to talk about because there's nothing really to talk about until there's something to talk about. I get it. But like, do you...

I don't know, like... Hugh Jackson is Wolverine, you know? For the record. Until he says I'm not... Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. And I think I... I... It feels like...

I don't know. I mean, the trouble is that whenever I get asked about... this i have to respond because i'm i hope a reasonably polite person but i it's it sounds like i'm the one forcing it and it's like no i'm i'm trying to live my my life um i i think it's it's like there was a moment that i won't lie there was a moment probably one of the first times the rumour mill wound up about it where i thought that'd be cool but i think i think it it didn't It never came to anything other than rumor. It was never, you know, because, well, I guess they, you know,

they haven't included the characters in a fresh iteration. So it never came to anything. And also, you know, Hugh came back and I guess, you know, that's... Except the clockback a little bit. Yeah. I'm quite right, too. He's completely synonymous with the character. And frankly, frankly...

Even if, you know, if they do whatever it is, you know, they were to do it, you know, there's some big shoes to fill. And I, and also, as you may have alluded to earlier in this conversation, I don't know that I want that much attention on me, frankly. Right. That's a life changer. That's a, yeah, I just don't know that's, that's i just don't know that that would do me any good man i you know i love acting and i love making films and i love the tv work i've been a part of but um i am very comfortable with the level the is at now where i get asked for a selfie maybe you know up the times a day

the the other thing that people experience i just don't know that i didn't built for it yeah i don't I don't know. Yeah. You mentioned once to me in that meeting you had way back when with Figey, which I know is a long time ago, that you actually mentioned a different character to him. Are you ready to spill on what that character was that you brought up with Kevin? I honestly can't remember, Josh.

Okay, that's convenient, but I'll take it. That's okay. I honestly can't remember. It's okay. Might have been Cyclops? Oh, maybe. I don't know. Does that ring a bell?

Maybe. Okay. I don't know. I don't know. There was a conversation around that years ago, back when it was a Fox thing, there was a Cyclops conversation years ago. Speaking of Fox, the Kingsman question that always comes up, is that, look, I know you and Matthew are tight. You always will be tight. I assume there's constant conversation. Yeah. My concern is you're starting to get into the gray area age-wise, where it's like, you're not old enough to be the mentor quite yet, the Colin Firth. but you're you're you're not the kid anymore needless to say you're a man so like are you aligned on what kingsman three would be like you and matthew and colin and what that story is

um um so i think it only works if it feels right for where we are in our lives now you know Matthew and I have, and I've said this before, you know, we would like to do another one. There is, without doubt, an appetite for it because it's still the thing I get asked about much. Whether it happens or not, I don't know. But I'm not troubled by my age. I think I'm more troubled by it. being a really worthwhile conclusion to something that started really my adult life and my life in this game, you know.

So I have strong instincts about what I think it should be. And Matthew isn't a, you know, he's certainly not going to be a passenger on the ride. So, I mean, yeah, we'll see. I think it would be a nice thing to do. I don't feel that that story ended in a place where it should be left. So it would be great to do one more. And he and I are, you know, we've talked about it as recently as a few days ago, you know. So it is still a thing.

It's just, yeah, we'll see, we'll see, man. You'll get there, you'll get there. Okay, before I let you go, a couple of the fans of yours and Happy Second Few sent me some questions. Jen simply wants to know an actor you want to work with next. Who's top of the list? Who do you have in mind? Oh, wow.

Oh, that's quite a question. I mean, so many, so many actors. Well, let's say Gary Olman, that would be fun. That'd be amazing. Yeah. Robin wants to know, I don't know if this is something, a project still on your radar, but Happyhead was a novel that I think you got the rights for a couple years ago. Is that still something you're developing trying to make happen?

Yes. Yes. We have a script and we're trying to figure out next moves. Yeah, I mean, it's my first foray into really building something from the ground up and it's true what they say it's challenging in a number of different ways but um yeah it's still yeah it's still an ongoing conversation i'm curious your perspective on obviously all the acclaim justifiable for rocket man and in subsequent years there have been some really interesting takes on music biopics i mean do you feel like a connection when you see like a shallow may take on

bob dillon jeremy allen white is doing springsteen um i don't know does it feel like you have like a unique vantage point on those kind of productions? Yeah, I mean, I suppose, you know, it's like, it makes me nostalgic. It's a wonderful feeling because for a second you get to kid yourself that you're a rock star, you know, and I really like those movies. I'm really excited about the Springsteen movie. and the sort of complete unknown

was great and the Beatles movie sounds or movies sounds amazing but yeah you know it's I guess it's yeah I don't know if it gives me a unique vantage point

but I'm glad they exist yeah well it's also they're marrying like really cool filmmakers with all these projects right it's whether Scott Cooper or San Mende's like yeah that's the secret sauce okay we're going to end with this

the happy, say I can confuse profoundly random questions, Taryn. You ready for those? Yes, yes. Dogs or cats? Are your dog or cat person? Dogs, for sure. For sure. I think, yeah, for sure.

I don't know why. I'm a very intuitive person. It's just a gut thing, you know. I like cats. I just wouldn't like, you know, I'd leave a baby with a dog. I wouldn't leave a baby with a cat. Would you?

No, I wouldn't. I'm a dog guy. my dog's in the next room, through and through. Yeah. Do you collect anything? What do you collect? Regrets. Sounds about right.

Do you have a favorite? I'm being silly. No, I'm being silly. I don't collect anything, right? Okay, do you have a favorite video game of all time? Probably answered this one on the Tetris Press store, I would imagine. Oh, I have really enjoyed those two Jedi games. Is it Fallen Order and I can't remember the name of the other one?

I played both of those to completion. I don't know if they're my favorite of all time, but the only thing I've played from start to finish over the past few years. Okay. Now you just set the internet on fire of casting you as a Jedi. You know what you just did. You know what you did. Oh.

Yeah. The Dakota Johnson Memorial question. She asked me this. I ask everybody at this. Would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one B in your butt? I think I would rather have one B in my butt because I think presuming there's no wow

I mean that really is a rock and a hard place isn't it? I can't explain there's no winner here I think I'm going to have to say a B in my butt because there's probably a positive prison through which you could examine it, it's stung in your bum and it might be that, you know, puts a little spring in your step, wakes you up a little bit, you know,

whereas a mouthful of bees is not much good for an actor. Thank you for taking it way too seriously. What's the wallpaper on your phone? It's got lots of texts on it at the moment, but it's a photo of my mom and my stepdad after my mother ran the Race for Life earlier this year. I'm very happy she's doing well. Who's the last actor that you were mistaken for?

Oh, I don't know, actually. Oh, hang on. It's definitely happened. I've probably just blanked it out because my fragile ego couldn't take it. Surely you must know it's me, Taryn Edgerton. I don't know. Oh, I don't know.

I don't know. Okay. Oh. Um, I feel like someone sent me a shot of an actor from the, from the O.C. or something, not long ago or something. Like Ben McKenzie or, um, like, I don't know. I've never seen this show. That's okay.

This is not, this, this is a crap answer, isn't it? I'm sorry, Josh. It's okay. I did. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. You're good. You're good.

What's the worst, you're going to make up? for it with this one what's the worst note a director has ever given you oh wow um um um well i like i you know before i really understood who matthew was you know he would he would deliver some insane notes to a novice actor to a to a to a young actor over a gold mic on the warner brothers sound stages at Leibston, you know, things to the effect of what the fuck was that, you know? And luckily, usually by the time I'm on set, I'm doing my thing, I feel reasonably, reasonably kind of robust.

But yeah, his style was a little challenging to begin with. But then as I got to know him, I just realized that, you know, fair is foul and foul is fair and all that. And finally, in the spirit of happy, say, confused. An actor who always makes you happy. You see them on screen. You're immediately in a better mood. I would say,

probably Philip Seymour Hoffman. Always amazing, a true chameleon. A movie that makes you sad. Oh, um. Grizzly man Oh That's a good guy Yeah

That's a good one Yeah I like it Yeah And finally a food that makes you confused You don't get it Why do people eat that What's

Oonie Is it see an enemy Sea urchin Yeah yeah Yeah Sea urchin Sea urchin Can't get on board

With that man It's and I will try anything And I like almost anything that stuff is it belongs in the hard shell it came in because it shouldn't be send it back into the ozman not meant for man definitely shouldn't yeah that doesn't belong on rice belongs in the sea it's a delicacy yeah i don't know i think it tastes like air spray mixed with not it's horrible um on a happier note also yeah also the other one

monkfish liver that's another thing i was convinced to try at a sushi place recently that i instantly regretted anyway sorry on a head to know don't send send over your complimentary monkfish liver if you see taran edgerton at the sushi bar he will refuse it he'll throw it back at you i will send a straight back um on a brighter note circling back to the reason we got together today congratulations everybody uh she rides shotgun is in theaters august first this is a labor of love this is a small film give it some love a passion project for taron he's fantastic in it. And smoke. By now, people are really catching on to this.

The reviews are great. It's, you and Dennis Lehane need to keep doing this because it's working out. You're two for two. Thanks, man. Thank you. So lovely seeing you, mate. Have a great time in San Diego. It's always such a pleasure. Thanks, buddy. I'll catch up with you soon. Thanks, right.

And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't I should do this by Josh. The Old West is an iconic period of American history and full of legendary figures

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