-Our first guest tonight is a talented actor
you know from films such as "Rocketman,"
"Eddie The Eagle," and the "Kingsman" franchise.
He executive produces and stars in "Tetris,"
which premieres globally on Apple TV+ tomorrow.
Let's take a look.
-Relax, Hank. This game is swell.
What's it called? -"Tetris."
-"Tetris." I don't get it.
It's a combination of "tetra" --
Greek for "four."
All the game's pieces are variants of four.
And tennis. -Tennis?
-Tennis is supposedly the Russian inventor.
He, um -- He likes tennis.
-Here, Hank. Try it.
-Um...
♪♪
[ Beeping ]
♪♪
-Please welcome back to the show
our friend Taron Egerton, everybody.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Welcome back.
-Wow! What a lovely welcome.
Thank you so much. Thank you. -They're a very lovely
group of people. -Whoo!
-It's so nice to see you again.
-It's great to see you. -Last time you were here,
we were talking about your wonderful work
as Elton John, in "Rocketman." -Thank you, yep.
-Obviously, you know, a slightly...
[ Cheers and applause ] The appropriate response.
You know, obviously it was taking on a lot,
playing a real person. -Yes.
-You are also playing a real person in this film.
This is Henk Rogers, who was integral in the "Tetris" story.
This is a true story. -Exactly.
-Did you know him as well as you knew Elton John?
-No. -Yeah.
-No. -So you weren't, like,
a big Henk Rogers fan?
-No, but I mean, I am now, obviously.
-And you got to meet the real Henk.
-I did. Yeah. Well, we shot this movie
during the first sort of COVID phase,
so we spoke over Zoom a lot. He's a nice guy.
He was a game publisher in 1989. In the scene you just saw,
he had got this sort of sneak preview to "Tetris,"
took it upon himself to go to Soviet Russia on a tourist visa
to try and procure the rights to the game.
So he's this sort of, you know, cowboy-ish, renegade --
You know, classic casting for me.
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
-So, he went to Russia to -- to get the game.
-And now was he surprised
that his story was being told on film?
-No. I think they've known for a while that it --
'Cause the story gets crazy. It's hard --
I've been in New York for a couple of days
trying to, you know, explain it. -Explain it.
-And I'm rubbish. I can't -- I can't do it.
But it is wild.
You know, the KGB got involved, and there's jeopardy,
and it's in Russia, and it's gnarly, and it's cool.
-It is not -- when you think there's gonna be a movie
about "Tetris," I was very surprised when I found out
that all these very real details.
-Yeah, I got there on the first day,
and I was dressed as a square,
and everyone looked at me like I don't know.
-You did -- I want to ask about the mustache because I can't --
I could not tell watching -- real or fake?
-I can't believe you're asking me that.
[ Laughter ]
I can't believe you're asking me that.
That's like ask-- -I can't tell
why you're offended. -Because it's like...
[ Laughter ] I'll tell you why.
Because it's like asking a lady her age.
You must -- [ Laughter ]
I don't know why you're all laughing.
You must never ask a gentleman
if his mustache is real or fake. [ Laughter ]
-You know what? I apologize that I've stepped
afoul of manners. And you know what?
We shall just leave it at that. Let's leave that one there
and move on with the interview.
We can fix this in editing. -Okay, great.
[ Laughter ]
-This was -- You know, was this a game --
Because, again, this game was so popular in the early '90s,
"Tetris"... -Yeah, yeah.
-I mean, I know, also, I'm aware
that that's probably right around when you were born.
-Yes. Uh, yeah. [ Laughter ]
-So did you know much about "Tetris"?
-No. No, I didn't. I was actually born --
The movie ends --
I'm gonna tell you how the movie ends.
That's left field, isn't it?
-The movie ends when your mustache falls off.
[ Laughter ]
And then it goes -- it's the last piece of the "Tetris."
[ Laughter ]
-Um, uh...
So it's -- the movie's set during the sort of last days
of the Soviet Union. And, obviously, you know,
it kind of culminates with the --
I really shouldn't do this. -Yeah, yeah.
-Anyway, I was born on the 10th of November, 1989,
so I am an '80s baby just by the skin of my teeth.
-There you go. -But I did play a little bit
when I was a kid. I got a copy
when I got my first Game Boy when I was about 10.
-What were the games that you then played?
Did you play video games?
-I was "Pokémon" -- obsessed with "Pokémon."
-Okay. Gotcha. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Obsessed. Hey, thanks! That's cool!
My, like -- My inner monologue was going,
"You are the least cool man on the planet."
[ Laughter ] But apparently,
the "Seth Meyers" audience... -No, no.
I want to tell you what happened there.
They were applauding for "Pokémon."
They weren't applauding... [ Laughter ]
They didn't think it was cool
that you were obsessed with "Pokémon."
[ Laughs ]
Don't look -- You're not even wearing a watch.
[ Laughter ]
All right. Is that -- Is that offensive that I asked
if you're wearing a watch? [ Laughter ]
-Yeah. Anything that I have to put on my body, you know?
[ Laughter ]
No, I meant because, you know,
"Pokémon" doesn't make me feel very cool.
But I was. I was obsessed with that game as a kid.
But I played "Tetris" sort of when I got bored of "Pokémon,"
which was quite rare. You know,
almost like a sort of palate cleanser.
You know when you go to a restaurant
and you have a bit of sorbet? -Yeah.
-"Tetris" is my sorbet. -Okay. Gotcha.
[ Laughter ]
I bet -- I'm confident
you're the first person to ever say that about "Tetris."
-Let's get it -- Let's get it on a T-shirt.
[ Laughter ]
-Your face, and it says, "Tetris is my sorbet."
-Exactly that. -And I've just heard
from the T-shirt store that no one's buying it.
-Really? -We'll keep working on it.
We'll keep -- Now, I've heard that one of your dream roles
is Sweeney Todd. -Yes.
-Which is currently on Broadway. In previews right now.
-Yes. -Are you gonna have time?
Are you here long enough to go check it out?
-No, but I just heard that Maude Apatow is on the show
and she's playing Audrey, too.
-Yes. -"Little Shop of Horrors"
is, like, my favorite show.
-That's fantastic.
-I had a -- I have a dream about playing Seymour.
I actually played -- When I was 17,
I played that role at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre,
which is the town I'm from,
and it's one of my real dream roles.
♪ Suddenly Seymour ♪
-There you go.
[ Cheers and applause ]
That's -- That was for you. -Yeah.
-That was for you. -Thanks, guys.
-That was -- Yeah. [ Laughs ]
-Yeah, I don't -- I'm judging you by your taste
because that was not my finest.
[ Laughter ]
-And we do want to beg you.
Just remember, the next time you're on,
please don't use your time here to audition for Broadway stuff.
-Yeah. Yeah.
Sorry. Sorry.
-Do you -- When -- Did you do a lot of shows
when you were 17? Was that --
-Yeah, that's when I -- So I started acting
when I was about 15.
I was quite late to it, really.
And that was one of the ones that I did in youth theater.
It was an amazing thing for me, acting,
because I suppose, like, prior to that,
I was a bit -- one of those kids
who hadn't quite found his -- his groove.
-Sure. -And when I started acting,
I sort of felt like I'd found my tribe.
-Did you have those moments? Because, you know, for me,
it was -- it was maybe doing improv comedy
where you were on stage in front of people your age,
and it was going well...
'Cause I remember the day I thought,
"Oh, I never want to stop doing this."
-Oh. I know! I remember the moment.
-Really? Was it -- was it --
What was it?
-So this was when I was 15.
And I -- And I -- And I was in a production
of a "Midsummer Night's Dream," which is a Shakespeare play.
And I played an actor within a show in the play.
And he's kind of one of the younger members of the company,
and he's forced to play a woman, and he's really upset about it.
And as a sort of chubby, awkward 15-year-old kid,
I was really upset about it.
And I was given a red, like, tutu cocktail dress
and flowers in my hair, and a little thing.
And I was -- I thought, "Well, this is it.
This is the end of the world."
[ Laughter ]
But I went out on stage,
and the audience fell about laughing.
And I thought, "Wow. This is it."
-Yeah. It's like a drug. -And that's why drag is okay.
[ Laughter, cheers, applause ]
-Well...
-Whoo!
-I don't think we're gonna top that.
I think that's a perfect capper.
Thank you so much for being back.
What a delight to have you. -Thank you.
Thank you. -Taron Egerton, everybody.
"Tetris" premieres on Apple TV+ tomorrow.
We'll be right back with Maude Apatow.