From RADA to Raya
Taron Egerton attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and graduated with a BA in Acting circa 2012. In 2014, he said: “I left RADA a year and a half ago, and I’ve done some wonderful jobs since then – some great plays and a great television programme. It’s always thrilling and exciting when you’re in costume and on wonderful sets. These are things that feed you as an actor and bring the world to life.”
In January 2017, he said: “I’d done, like, amateur musicals and I’d done choral singing at school, but I think it was at RADA where I first had that validation and someone actually saying You know, you can sing. And I go, OK, I can sing! That was the first time I remember feeling that way.”
In November 2018, he said: “I could never have afforded RADA if it weren’t for the thousands and thousands they gave me in grant money.”
In April 2019, he said: “If it wasn’t for the financial support, I couldn’t have gone. They had a lot of other working-class students. I know RADA is very conscientious about that, in terms of getting a fairly varied selection of people from diverse backgrounds.”
In May, he referenced Elton John by saying: “I was lucky enough to get a place at RADA when I was 19, and the song that I sang to audition was Your Song. And it was for many of my drama-school auditions.”
Referring to actor Ben Whishaw, Taron said the following at the 2023 BAFTA (i.e. British Academy of Film and Television Arts) ceremony: “Eleven years ago when I was graduating from RADA, Ben came to see one of my final shows. He tapped me on the shoulder afterwards and told me how much he'd enjoyed my performance and was really encouraging at a time when my confidence was low. He was universally revered at the drama school and it meant the world to me. Congratulations, Ben. It's a real privilege to even be mentioned in the same breath as you.”
During the Hollywood Film Awards in November 2019, Taron revealed that fellow RADA student Cynthia Erivo gave him an apple to keep his strength.
In November 2018, Taron Egerton had split up with his girlfriend Emily Thomas - an assistant director who can be seen above and below. Taron said that #MeToo had made him more cautious around women: “Like a lot of people with a profile I was like Holy sh!t, what have I done since I was 18? I have just become single again and I’m not in a place where I’m thinking about dating, but when I am, it will probably affect my thinking a bit. There are certainly situations where I avoid being alone with certain people.”
His relationship with Emily had ended in 2018 due to conflicting work schedules. Their relationship was rekindled in April 2019 - just in time for the May release of Rocketman. But then they split up again in April 2022. Taron deleted all traces of Emily from Instagram. This came after the news that he had pulled out of his West End play, Cock, for personal reasons. He had lost consciousness on stage during the opening night in March, then had to take another break after catching Covid. Allegedly, Emily wanted to get engaged but Taron didn’t. A reliable source told The Sun: “It hasn’t been easy for either of them. He is taking some time for himself now but he is open to meeting someone else soon. He has been putting himself out there on Raya in the hopes he can ease himself back into dating.”
When his relationship with Emily first ended, no-one could accuse him of wanting a younger upgrade because he was seen a month later with Kirsty Gallacher (who is his senior by ten years). In a way, this was foreshadowed in 2015 when Taron admitted that he had a crush on Meryl Streep. A plot twist emerged last year when his fan-base on Reddit noticed that he was following significantly younger models on Instagram. The final twist is that, earlier this month, he was seen with the slightly younger Chloe Bennett. Raya members have to be referred to the app by already existing members, and it’s never been revealed as to who provided the referral.