Hollywood star Taron Egerton has admitted that he 'starved' himself to play serial killer Ben in the Netflix thriller Apex, and received tips on portraying pure evil from acting legend Anthony Hopkins.
Physical transformation for Apex
In Apex, released in April, Charlize Theron played a grieving woman hunted in the Australian wilderness by a serial killer, played by Egerton. The 36-year-old said the physical transformation for the role was extreme.
Speaking on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, the Rocketman star detailed the toll the role took on him. "It's worth being wary of that, I think, because that version of me in Apex, the guy who's whatever silly body fat I was, and all kind of strong, every day I punish myself for not looking like that," he said.
"But the truth of the matter is that I starved myself. I was running myself absolutely ragged to get there."
Struggles with body image
Egerton added that a friend once told him his job was to "smash" the "idealised version" of himself, not to "aspire" to it. He admitted struggling with his body in his 20s, shaping up for roles then falling out of shape, but had things more under control in his 30s.
"It's one of the things that is a challenge nobody wants to hear about, but fluctuating relationship with your own images," he revealed, confessing he was often "filled with self-loathing" during his "shirtless days" filming Apex and his 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service.
"I couldn't enjoy it at the time because I'd completely lost any distorted sense of perspective," he explained. "Also, it ain't that deep. You bounce back, you carry on. It's fine. It's just what it is, you know?"
Advice from Anthony Hopkins
The Welsh native also discussed getting tips from Anthony Hopkins, who won an Oscar in 1992 for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, on playing evil characters.
Egerton said: "I'm very honoured to say that I have a sort of slight pen pal relationship with Anthony Hopkins, and I asked him before doing the movie for advice about playing a really fucked up individual."
"And he said something like, 'I don't know where Lecter came from, probably something in my childhood'. But he said, 'The only advice I would give you, and I don't need to tell you this, but the only advice I would give you is don't play the evil. Play him as the hero of his story'."
Estranged relationship with father
The star also opened up about his estranged relationship with his father, whom his mother Christine divorced when he was two, admitting it was "more difficult" as an adult.
He said: "My father and I, when I was growing up, were able to maintain a fairly kind of functional relationship. As I got older, that became more difficult and I haven't spoken to him for a number of years now. I do love him. I just don't think we work very well in terms of our relationship. So, there was a point where I pushed the ejector seat and haven't seen him since."
