Taron Egerton feared Rocketman would be a 'car crash'

The star of 2019's most talked about film has revealed the moment he thought the movie would be a "car crash".

Taron Egerton, who starred as Elton John in the musical biopic Rocketman, featured in British GQ's Action Replay video series, where he discussed one of the film's most memorable scenes at the Troubadour.

Prior to going on stage, Sir Elton is portrayed in the movie as having a meltdown before he has to perform Crocodile Rock at the iconic music venue in West Hollywood.

Egerton revealed the scene was shot on the first day of filming, saying he had his own personal meltdown.

"This was actually the first day of shooting on Rocketman, obviously playing someone like Elton is quite a daunting thing," Egerton says.

"I'd got myself into a bit of an anxious state and managed to convince myself the whole project was going to be a car crash at the end of this day, for no other reason other than being neurotic."

Taron Egerton and Sir Elton John attend a fundraiser for for the Elton John Aids Foundation. Photo / Getty Images

Egerton, 29, also explained how they shot the scene where the whole crowd levitates just before the chorus.

"For my part they put me on a wire and hoisted me into the air and the wires are painted out afterwards," he explained.

"But all of the crowd amazingly were on a series of bicycles, or bicycle seats at least, all strapped together so they lifted in unison.

"They had to do that all day, I dread to think what their nether regions felt like by six o'clock."

In preparing for the role of Sir Elton, one of the world's most successful musicians, Egerton said he was careful not to "camp it up" too much.

"The thing I was nervous of . . . There's a certain amount of trepidation around playing a gay character when you're a heterosexual," he told the publication.

"Because you don't want that community to feel you're doing some sort of caricature or something.

"I didn't want to camp it up because Elton is not a camp man.

"I knew quite acutely that wasn't what I wanted to do."