Music legend Elton John was surprised by his Hollywood counterpart for a very special birthday reunion. It's been nearly seven years since Elton's 2019 movie biopic Rocketman came out and launched rising star Taron Egerton to even higher levels of fame. Taron, 36, famously transformed into a younger version of the musician on-screen - and he's clearly kept in touch over the years, recently making the effort to see Elton in person to celebrate the hitmaker's 79th birthday on 25 March.
The stars shared a warm hug over a birthday lunch on Wednesday, which Elton commemorated on social media. "Rocket Man squared [rocket emoji]," the Tiny Dancer singer aptly captioned the reunion photo, gushing that it had been "a brilliant birthday surprise having @taron.egerton join us for lunch." Taron had a big smile on his face as he dressed in a casual hat and flannel shirt for the low-key birthday celebration.
Elton's long-term husband, David Furnish, sweetly thanked Taron for the day and re-shared the reunion photo on his Instagram Stories. "Thank you @davidfurnish for making today and every day feel special, and to all of you for the love, messages and support," Elton said to his husband.
© Instagram/ @eltonjohnElton and Taron's lasting friendship
Taron might have played Elton in Rocketman, but the pair actually already knew each other from one of the actor's previous projects. One of Taron's most well-known roles is as an unlikely spy 'Eggsy' in The King's Man movie franchise. The star first crossed paths with Elton in 2017 on the set of the second film, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, when the musician had an on-screen cameo.
"We met for the first time when I was filming the wedding scene," Taron told People in 2019.
"He was in that scene playing organ, and he just called me up to go and have a chat with him," the actor recalled, calling the meeting a "very, very, very surreal experience".
Since playing him on-screen, Elton has considered Taron a "part of my family". In the same interview with Entertainment Tonight, Taron said of the musician: "He wants me to look at him like he's my friend, which he is."
What's Taron up to now?
© Kane Skennar/NetflixAfter his critically-acclaimed performance in Rocketman, which was a box office success, Taron proved he's an actor with range in the chilling 2022 thriller miniseries Black Bird, where he played a real-life convicted criminal who goes makes a deal with the FBI and works an undercover operation in prison. He continued in the thriller genre with the action-packed 2024 Netflix film Carry-On.
In 2025 he starred in another Apple TV+ true-crime crime thriller series from the creators of Black Bird, titled Smoke. In April, he's set to star in the forthcoming action film, Apex, alongside Charlize Theron.
