Tetris: Taron Egerton says he is enjoying doing ‘grittier fare’ as he stars in film about wrangling video game rights from cold war Russia
We’re used to seeing him in musicals and comedies, but recently he’s been expanding his filmography in gritty and hard-hitting, dramas.
His latest is no different – starring in a Cold War thriller about the retro video game Tetris.
In a story based on true events, Egerton plays Henk Rogers, a Dutch video game designer who battled Robert Maxwell to wrangle the global distribution rights to Tetris from the USSR when Cold War tensions were high, in a tale of espionage, wits and international diplomacy.
Speaking to Backstage, the TV and film podcast from Sky News, Egerton said it was an “instant yes” to getting on board.
“I didn’t know the story and I thought it was wild – it was an instant yes.”
“But I’ve made a number of films with Matthew [Vaughn]… and I kind of know how he works and the sort of tone of the things he does, and I could see what this had the potential to be.”
He’s the latest big star to step into the world of video games, following on from recent big successes such as The Last Of Us and Uncharted (originally PlayStation games), as well as the upcoming Hollywood-star packed Super Mario film.
“I think it’s because Hollywood works on recognisable IP (intellectual property) now and the games provide recognisable IP,” he told Backstage about why so many video games are being adapted for film and TV.
Though he did admit: “That’s a slightly cynical answer, but I do think it’s the truth.”
“And I think for studios that don’t have big superhero properties, video gaming is a really smart alternative for movies that have the potential to find big audiences.
“I think what’s slightly different about our movie is that it’s not really about the game – it’s a really worthwhile, exciting story about the rights to a game, but it still benefits from that recognisable IP.”
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
The film, which is out on Apple TV+, benefits from having the real-life Henk Rogers, and the man who invented Tetris Alexey Pajitnov, on board in the writer’s room, helping to develop the project.
“We did work on the script, and we were involved from the very beginning, but frankly, when we saw it on the screen, that was like a shock for us,” Rogers told Backstage. “It was an absolutely unbelievable experience.”
Nikita Efremov and Taron Egerton in Tetris. Pic: Apple
“We see our lives squeeze into a couple hours in a very condensed way and it’s very truthful in spirit.”
When asked about the enduring popularity of Tetris, Rogers added: “I think that Tetris is a game that can be played by everyone – that’s the big difference.
“There is no gender or age – it was the first game that was played by women in large numbers. We broke the gender barrier… so there’s a lot of people, I would say, that were able to play games that were never able to play games before.”
Nikita Efremov and Taron Egerton in Tetris. Pic: Apple
Pajitnov reflected on the USSR at the time he lived there (he moved to the US in the 1990s to work with Rogers), telling Backstage: “Unfortunately, the situation now is even darker than you could see in the movie, because at that time was kind of very close to the end of the Soviet Union,
“It was also the perestroika (the restructuring of the Soviet Union) time and these kinds of events gave us some hope – unfortunately, now the situation looks much more hopeless than it used to be there.”
Tetris is streaming is out now in selected cinemas and streaming on Apple TV+.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
More entertainment news:
Paris Hilton’s home destroyed in fires
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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